Picture books should be read together... they spark conversation

CHARLIE AND LOLA WRITER AND ILLUSTRATOR LAUREN CHILD TALKS TO LISA SALMON ABOUT 25 YEARS OF HER PHENOMENALLY SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND TV SERIES

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MANY of today’s young people grew up being read Charlie and Lola stories and watching the TV series about the patient older brother and his imaginative little sister.

This year marks 25 years since the first book in the series, I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, was published, and now author Lauren Child has written a Christmas Charlie and Lola tale to mark the endearing pair's silver jubilee. It's a reminder for fans that this is a brother and sister team that will never grow up.

Lauren, who also illustrated the award-winning book series which has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide sidesteps questions about whether she's proud of the books' success.

However, she admits: “I feel moved by it really, by the people who write to me, young and old, and I feel moved when I meet them. I feel very lucky that people tell me about how they feel about the books.

“I do have these very moving moments with young people who come up to me and are sometimes quite tearful. And I really understand that, because they've taken Charlie and Lola through their childhood, and they’re now having children of their own.

“Sometimes they send me pictures of their Charlie and Lola tattoos, and I find that really moving.

“When anyone comes up to me and says the books have been important to them or become part of their family vocabulary and all those things which get absorbed into the bones of your family, then that’s just amazing to me.”

Charlie and Lola is a popular trend on Instagram, and an almost bemused Lauren, 59, points out it’s “a huge thing on TikTok” too.

“It’s got a life of its own beyond me, which is, of course, the point of any art. I don’t own it any more, but I do find that a really beautiful thing.”