‘They are teeny incidents from a child’s life and their day-to-day events’: children’s author Lauren Child on 25 years of Charlie and Lola
- By Alice Haston and Scarlet Chambers
Charlie and Lola creator Lauren Child has opened up about her newest book and the inspiration behind the hit children’s series which has enthralled generations of kids.
Lauren’s latest book, ‘I am wishing every minute for Christmas’, explores the excitement about waiting for presents and the build-up to the festive day.
The iconic illustrations and stories behind Charlie and Lola’s Christmas took Lauren 20-years to perfect. Talking about the project, Lauren expressed how difficult it can be to write picture books.
“It is a very tiny amount of space to write… and Christmas is such a huge subject to talk about,” she said.
Lauren described her personal journey with the book and how she wanted to create something important and special, considering how difficult Christmas can be for some children.
The stories of Charlie and Lola really began for Lauren when she thought about how big some first experiences are for children when they are so young.
For Lauren, writing is about shining a light on these moments.
Before Charlie and Lola
Talking to NQ, Lauren explained how Charlie and Lola ended up being a TV show: originally it was Lauren’s Clarice Bean series that the BBC wanted to turn into a TV show, until she decided that the Charlie and Lola books would be a better fit.
“I am happy to sell the Charlie and Lola stories, and they [the production team] weren’t sure at first,” she said.
Pitching Charlie and Lola the production team, Lauren said :“I think these would work really well because they are teeny incidents from a child’s life and their day-to-day events”.
Lauren used a recording of her friend’s daughter reading her work to convince the producers that a child telling the Charlie and Lola stories would be the best way to illustrate the story on screen.
“It was a very collaborative way of working”, said Lauren. Throughout the years since, she has played an active role with the designs and dialogue editing for the show.
Lauren was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal this year for her illustrations for another children’s book, Grey – 25 years after winning the award for the original Charlie and Lola book.
“If you do get nominated or you win something, it is lovely, but yeah, it’s a kind of a fool’s game, to keep directing yourself at the possibility of it [winning an award],” she said.
“They are great when you win them, they are lousy when you don’t.”
In her view, an author’s worth shouldn’t be built upon awards and medals.
‘The art of making things is inspiring’
Looking back on her 25-year career, Lauren says that one of her proudest achievements was being nominated the UK’s Children’s Laureate, between 2017 and 2019.
The two-year role is intended to promote and encourage children’s interest in books, reading and writing, and is awarded exclusively to writers and illustrators considered ‘outstanding’ in their field.
Lauren’s time as Children’s Laureate saw her take part in judging the Betjeman poetry competition for children between 10 and 13-years-old. She described their work as “just amazing, extraordinary”.
“If you’re going to run a prize for children for writing, poetry is brilliant, especially if you get them to do it the way they feel about something.
“The reason we have artists, or are artists of any form – whether it’s music, drama, dance, acting, illustrating etc. – [is because] it is a form of communicating how we feel.
“I think there’s a need in most artists [to create] – you don’t generally go into it for commercial reasons. It’s because you have to express something. That then communicates to someone else, usually combining with other people’s ideas, as well.
“You’re often talking about ideas or collaborating with people, and you create something much bigger than your stuff and you begin to understand things more clearly.
“The art of making things is inspiring, you can do it with someone else, or on your own.”