Charlie and Lola: I Am Too Absolutely Small for School Board Book - Hardcover

Lauren Child MBE is a multi award-winning author and current Children's Laureate, whose books are known and loved the world over. She is the creator of many much-loved characters, including Charlie and Lola, Clarice Bean and Ruby Redfort. Since her first book was published in 1999, Lauren has sold over six million books in 19 languages worldwide. Her many awards include the prestigious Kate Greenaway Prize for I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, the Nestle Gold Book Award for That Pesky Rat and the Nestle Bronze Book Award for Beware of the Storybook Wolves. Lauren loves designing and making things and finds it exciting to see her drawings turned into objects. Other favourite things include the cinema, TV matinees, small Italian cars, handbags, cardigans, travelling and being picked up from the airport.

PreSchool-Grade 2–The endearing siblings who first appeared in I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato (Candlewick, 2000) return with equally satisfying results. This time, little sister Lola has decided that while her parents think she is "nearly almost big enough to go to school," she is "absolutely not BIG." Charlie, the narrator, puts forth numerous sound reasons for going to school that Lola counters with her own unique logic: "I say... 'If you know how to write, you can send cards to people you like.' Lola says, 'I like to talk on the telephone. It's more friendly and straightaway.'" Charlie eventually comes up with a reason Lola cannot refute–her invisible friend is starting school and will be lonely without her–and she embarks on her educational career. The children's relationship is refreshingly noncombative, with Charlie as the protective and affectionate big brother who is appreciative of, rather than annoyed by, his sister's quirkiness. Incorporating photos, fabric, and appealingly childlike cartoon renderings of the siblings, the mixed-media illustrations are a visual treat of color and texture. This is a winner either as a read-aloud or for independent perusal.–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
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