Lauren Child is a force for good in the universe. Her books for children and especially her Charlie and Lola series are humane, intelligent and very, very funny. Charlie is the patient older brother of an imaginative and slightly naughty younger sister, Lola, who goes to school, has adventures and plays with her best friend Lotta and her imaginary friend Soren Lorenson. I'm thinking about Child because my kids love her stuff and there's a nice interview with her in today's Guardian. There's also a brand new Charlie and Lola story from Ms Child, about Lola going slightly invisible in The Guardian, here.
The BBC series Charlie and Lola (above, right) captures much of the books' magic and has the added benefit of excellent voice work from young actors who are so good it takes me back to the amazing stuff those kids used to do on the Charlie Brown specials. (The boy (boys?) who played Linus always used to crack me up.) I'm glad the girl who plays Lola on the BBC series is not my daughter, because really there's only so much adorableness that a man can take.
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23 comments:
I envy you. I used to enjoy quiet moments with my son watching (and reading) Charlie and Lola, Peppa Pig, the Wiggles and the like but there's some point with a boy, about seven I think, where if it's not about monsters and guns it's not watched and if it hasn't got fart references, it's barely read. Having said that, we both enjoy the Andy Griffiths/Terry Denton books and, of course, Wimpy Kid.
Your daughters seem pretty adorable, though.
So you're anti Charlie Brown comic strips but pro Charlie Brown TV specials?
I am so confused.
David
I sort of met Andy Griffiths in Perth at the Writers Festival. I only sort of met him because it was just me getting a couple of his books signed. It was actually all quite ironic because I was supposed to be signing my books at the same time but nobody showed up at my table, so I just buggered off and joined the really long line at Andy Griffiths's. It was a lesson in humility in the 43c heat of Perth and I felt like I was in Saturday Evening Post short story from which I would take a moral lesson or something, except that I didnt. But I got couple of books signed which was something.
Seana
No I like the Peanuts strip too, I just dont think that they're funny. And I dont think they're really meant to be funny either. Peanuts is tragic and melancholy like a poem by Andrew Marvell or something. The specials arent quite as desperately sad, except for the Halloween one obviously.
I agree with you, except that I think that there's this odd thing where Schultz probably identified with the depressive CB, and yet every other character in the strip offers an alternative to that point of view. It's not to say that Chuck isn't right about everything, but there is this odd sense that the other characters, being deluded, live better lives anyway.
I still can't believe Charlie is a boy. I'd always believed he was a girl until my wife put me straight ... maybe I wasn't paying enough attention.
Charlie and Lola, Peppa Pig, Ben and Holly, Ruby and Max, Dora the Explorer, Humf ... it's like some Golden Age of Toddlers' TV in our house right now.
Stop the clocks, I want my baby girl just the way she is.
Cheers, Dec
I thought Charlie was a girl too but then my dad always told me Postman Pat was a woman, which was confusing. Charlie and Lola stationary is really nice, pencils and pencil cases and stuff... not that ive got any...yet!
My two rascals are older now, but I cherish every last minute when they were ages 2 to 7 and we would watch all those kids shows. Once in a while, my son will still watch Litte Bill, Maggie and Beast, Franklin etc...It does my heart good. You don't get a second with your kid's childhood, so make the most of it.
My wife and daughter Charlie and Lola. Another solid favourite TV show is Jakers! Are you lucky enough to get that in Oz, Adrian?
Dec
It is some kind of golden age. Peppa Pig is excellent and I love this show called Little Kingdom which has a fantastic theme music.
Frankie
Postman Pie does have a bit of a Mrs Doubtfire vibe, that much is true.
Sean
Its good advice, although I have secretely read Charlie and Lola in the bookshop when they havent been around at all so I dont think I'll stop even when they do grow up.
Michael
Ahh, Jakers. No unfortunately they dont have that in Oz. Used to watch that in the US though. I used to tell my daughters that my chilhood was exactly like that.
Adrian,
I'm confifdent your time will come. And people always buy more books for their kids than they do for themselves. I should get a round of applause from the staff every time I walk into Readings in Acland St with my boy. I reckon I paid for most of their renovations. Money well spent, though.
David
Actually my purchases of the Allie Finkel books undoubtedly provided the capital they need to build that extension. I plan to get my money back though, I'm going to slip on that unmarked slope that leads from the old shop into the extension and sue them for my subsequent back injury.
Finally got a moment to watch that Charlie and Lola story and really enjoyed it. I'll see what we have in the way of books tomorrow--her art work looks familiar, but there are many things in the kid's section that I am ignorant of. I like the kids' voices in the film, though.
Went and read the little piece at the Guardian too, but got distracted by this story on one of my friends...
Seana
I wish my publishers could arrange a publicity stunt like that for me. I think I'd even take a fatwa. You must let me show you my hilarious Muhammed cartoons some time.
Speaking of which, does anyone have advice on finding a children's book publisher or agent or manager or something? My partner wrote a children's book that's illustrated (Professor Blue, but of course).
Signed, post hijacking opportunist
Sheiler
You have to get an agent first. Publishers will destroy you. They'll still destroy after you get the agent but it will hurt slightly less.
That big book of Agents that every library has is the best place to start.
Dont send to a publisher first.
Adrian, be careful what you wish for, is all I'm saying. I thought it was funny when I read it, but I bet having your glasses stolen in a foreign country in a room full of strangers feels more like an assault than a joke. It does sound like a set-up, but it doesn't sound like the kind of thing he'd agree to.
Sheiler, I'll second what Adrian says and add, that unless your you're very, very lucky, it takes a LOT of persistance and you can't take the rejection personally. Good luck to you guys!
Oh boy...ok. I will get me to a library (non-MIT-book destroying library) soon for a list of agents.
Soul crushing?
Sounds like I should keep my day jobs of hustling for every last quarter / paper shuffling / hand holding / car driving. Filthy lucre!
Also I did not know that Andy Griffiths wrote. I loved watching him in the Andy Griffiths show. My siblings and mother still quote lines from the show. I once sent my mom flowers with an accompanying note: "Barney's in jail." She received the flowers the same day and time while watching TAGS (after a long hiatus of not watching). What was the episode? Barney's in jail.
My kids are 8 & 9 now but I remember once a few years back after I put them to bed sitting on the couch for a good 20 minutes before I realized I didn’t have to watch the kids shows and could watch something else. Part of it was routine and habit but part of it was that the damned thing was just funny.
Some of those shows are quite entertaining. Some are clever and others are weird. They are like small guilty pleasures that I still sneak sometimes.
And this has nothing to do with TV but I’ll share anyway. Last night I cracked a joke and my daughter said to me “you’re not funny…like Norman”. She was remembering when we watched A River Runs Through it a long while back and dropped a movie/book reference on me.
Brian
Nice movie ref. I like it.
Its a very odd moment when you can all watch a grown up TV show together and enjoy. We all like Project Runway. I have no idea why but we do.
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