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Charlie & Lola
Say Cheese!
Lola has promised her mother that she will stay clean and tidy for school picture day. "It will be easy peasy, lemon squeezy!" says Lola. But staying clean and tidy is not so easy, especially when there is finger painting to do and a game of puddles to play. By the time Lola poses for her picture, she is covered in paint and pink milk, and her extremely special photograph for Mom is ruined. But then Charlie has an idea that just might save the day. Perfect for school picture day or back-to-school, here’s a story full of hilarious "Lola moments" that both parents and kids will find familiar and funny. And don’t forget to watch these siblings in action on their hit animated series Charlie & Lola on Playhouse Disney.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2007
2 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Child
451 books837 followersLauren Child MBE is an English author and illustrator. She was the UK Children's Laureate from 2017-19.
Child grew up in Wiltshire as the middle child of three sisters and the daughter of two teachers. She has always been interested in the many aspects of childhood, from gazing into toy shop windows to watching American children's shows from the 1960s. After attending two Art Schools, she travelled for six months, still unsure about which career to embark upon.
Before writing and illustrating children's books Child started her own company 'Chandeliers for the People' making lampshades. It was only when she came to write and illustrate the book Clarice Bean, That's Me that she decided to devote her time to writing and illustrating books for children, which combines her fascination for childhood and her talent for designing and creating. Child gets her inspiration from other people's conversations or from seeing something funny happen.
Her book I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato won the 2000 Kate Greenaway Medal. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005), a panel named it one of the top ten winning works, which comprised the shortlist for a public vote for the nation's favourite. It finished third in the public vote from that shortlist.
Child lives in North London.
Child grew up in Wiltshire as the middle child of three sisters and the daughter of two teachers. She has always been interested in the many aspects of childhood, from gazing into toy shop windows to watching American children's shows from the 1960s. After attending two Art Schools, she travelled for six months, still unsure about which career to embark upon.
Before writing and illustrating children's books Child started her own company 'Chandeliers for the People' making lampshades. It was only when she came to write and illustrate the book Clarice Bean, That's Me that she decided to devote her time to writing and illustrating books for children, which combines her fascination for childhood and her talent for designing and creating. Child gets her inspiration from other people's conversations or from seeing something funny happen.
Her book I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato won the 2000 Kate Greenaway Medal. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005), a panel named it one of the top ten winning works, which comprised the shortlist for a public vote for the nation's favourite. It finished third in the public vote from that shortlist.
Child lives in North London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 25, 2019
Cute and oh-so relatable!
I’m always messy for pics too.
And so are my little readers! It’s always the hair! Lol
Cute book - and relevant since picture day is approaching!
I’m always messy for pics too.
And so are my little readers! It’s always the hair! Lol
Cute book - and relevant since picture day is approaching!
February 5, 2017
Lola is about to have her first ever school photo taken. Her Mum tells her that it is a very special photograph and that she has to stay tidy and clean. Her brother Charlie doubts if she will be able to do so but she replies, 'It'll be easy peasy lemon squeezy.'
To prove her point Lola shows Charlie some holiday photographs where she is smiling and looking extremely clean and also saying 'Cheese!'
However, once at school, in her nicest skirt, her best shoes and her favourite hairclips, with her friend Lotta she embarks on various activities that soon have her looking not so clean. They play around the puddles in the playground, mess about in the water tray and then at lunchtime she drinks her pink milk and spills it all over.
After lunch they paint and before long Lola tells Lotta, 'My hands are a bit green and a bit red.' She washes her hands prior to the photo call but fails to wash the paint off her face. When it is their turn Charlie has to tell Lola, 'Stay still, stop wriggling.' She does and says, 'Cheese!'
Viewing their photographs later Charlie says, 'Well at least you're smiling Lola,' to which Lola replies 'But I'm NOT clean and I'm NOT tidy, and I did try.' She is so disappointed because she did want her Mum to be pleased.
Then she has an idea. She digs out some old photographs and, after lots of cutting, snipping and sticking, she comes up with a composite photograph that displays none of the dirt and untidiness that is there originally.
At bedtime Lola goes into their bedroom with the special photograph and Charlie asks what their Mum thought of it. Lola says, 'Mum says I REALLY am a VERY good smiler.'
Another jolly adventure with Charlie and Lola - Cheese!
To prove her point Lola shows Charlie some holiday photographs where she is smiling and looking extremely clean and also saying 'Cheese!'
However, once at school, in her nicest skirt, her best shoes and her favourite hairclips, with her friend Lotta she embarks on various activities that soon have her looking not so clean. They play around the puddles in the playground, mess about in the water tray and then at lunchtime she drinks her pink milk and spills it all over.
After lunch they paint and before long Lola tells Lotta, 'My hands are a bit green and a bit red.' She washes her hands prior to the photo call but fails to wash the paint off her face. When it is their turn Charlie has to tell Lola, 'Stay still, stop wriggling.' She does and says, 'Cheese!'
Viewing their photographs later Charlie says, 'Well at least you're smiling Lola,' to which Lola replies 'But I'm NOT clean and I'm NOT tidy, and I did try.' She is so disappointed because she did want her Mum to be pleased.
Then she has an idea. She digs out some old photographs and, after lots of cutting, snipping and sticking, she comes up with a composite photograph that displays none of the dirt and untidiness that is there originally.
At bedtime Lola goes into their bedroom with the special photograph and Charlie asks what their Mum thought of it. Lola says, 'Mum says I REALLY am a VERY good smiler.'
Another jolly adventure with Charlie and Lola - Cheese!
October 1, 2014
Charlie and Lola get ready to take the school photo.
January 12, 2020
Lola tries her best to keep "all tidy and clean" for her first ever school photo, but it turns out to be more challenging than she thought. This picture book is based on Lauren Child's Charlie and Lola characters, but she did not write this story; it's based on a television script written by someone else and doesn't have the same charismatic sibling dynamics as I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato.
February 6, 2022
Just doesn't have the magic of the earlier ones. I honestly think that a photo of a child should look like the child... and if the child cannot stay tidy and clean, then so be it. Or take a photo yourself one minute after she gets dressed. That is all I have to say.
January 7, 2017
Another cute Charlie and Lola story - this one about staying clean for the school photographer. Prior to going to school, Charlie, the older brother, advises Lola about staying clean for the picture. Of course, his direction to stay clean foreshadows the inevitable - Lola will not stay clean.
May 31, 2017
A story that accurately shows a child trying to stay clean for picture day. My daughter enjoyed the story and the illustrations were good too. Would recommend.
December 7, 2017
Very funny!
July 2, 2019
3 stars
April 15, 2014
At first the illustration style of this book put me off; it feels a bit two-dimensional and unsophisticated. However, interspersed with the drawings are photographic images collaged into the book, and it's a pretty clever addition. More to the point, the story and the characters soon sucked me in and charmed me!
Lola is a precocious and energetic little girl, and Charlie is her pretty cool and helpful older brother. He's well-aware of Lola's various flaws and weaknesses, and while he points them out, he helps her through them as well. Case in point: it's School Picture Day, and Lola is determined to be the cleanest, tidiest girl in school. This is kind of hard for her, however, because she's SO energetic and into everything. But she'll try, by golly, she'll try!
Her success is pretty predictable, but it's Charlie's way of helping to mitigate the (minor) damage that's the REALLY sweet part of this book. Charlie serves as a good role model for older siblings, and his endearing relationship with Lola makes me want to come back and read more in this series.
Lola is a precocious and energetic little girl, and Charlie is her pretty cool and helpful older brother. He's well-aware of Lola's various flaws and weaknesses, and while he points them out, he helps her through them as well. Case in point: it's School Picture Day, and Lola is determined to be the cleanest, tidiest girl in school. This is kind of hard for her, however, because she's SO energetic and into everything. But she'll try, by golly, she'll try!
Her success is pretty predictable, but it's Charlie's way of helping to mitigate the (minor) damage that's the REALLY sweet part of this book. Charlie serves as a good role model for older siblings, and his endearing relationship with Lola makes me want to come back and read more in this series.
April 26, 2014
Our girls really enjoy the Charlie and Lola series of books created by Lauren Child.
They don't always like my fake English accent when I read it, but the stories are always a hit. They cut to the heart of sibling relationships - the love, the support, the arguments, the tattling... Great stories for younger children. The narrative and illustrations are typical for the series and we love the whimsical background patterns and the school picture day theme.
We enjoyed reading this book together and we will likely look for more of the books in this series at our local library.
They don't always like my fake English accent when I read it, but the stories are always a hit. They cut to the heart of sibling relationships - the love, the support, the arguments, the tattling... Great stories for younger children. The narrative and illustrations are typical for the series and we love the whimsical background patterns and the school picture day theme.
We enjoyed reading this book together and we will likely look for more of the books in this series at our local library.
November 26, 2008
I thought this book was delightful, absolutely delightful. You can see the dilemma that Lola is in and how hard she tries to stay clean and tidy, but somehow can't help but mess up. If I hadn't looked very closely at this book, I would have thought that it was written by Lauren Child, but it is actually not. It is based on the tv show written by someone else and Lauren Child gets her name on the side, pretty sneaky. A very cute book that I'd recommend.
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2008...
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2008...
January 20, 2009
This story was all over the place. It needed to be tightened up a lot. And wayyy too much "Lola says" and "Lotta says". Reading it aloud, you realize how ridiculous all those tags sound on every. single. page. It looks like this might not have been written by Lauren Child--it says "text based on the script written by Samantha Hill"--but I'm not sure. Hopefully Child didn't write it--she's much better than this![return][return]There are so many great picture books out there (such as some written by Child herself). There's no reason to waste your time on this mess of a book.
March 26, 2011
What a cute book! As a teacher, I would definitely use this with young children (like my pre-k or kindergarten students) as they might be taking their first school picture. Parents often times get super serious about these pictures as they want them to be "perfect," and that is exactly what this book is about, but at the end of it all as long as you're smiling, parents will always be happy. I also think a lot of parents should read this for themselves so they are reminded the true meaning of pictures :)!
March 18, 2008
Despite Charlie's warnings, and no matter how hard she tries, Lola cannot stay neat and tidy for her first school photo.
Kids love Charlie and Lola. Period. They're on TV now, so that just about guarantees their popularity. I know I can't keep the books on the shelves in the library. But honestly, that's okay with me. They're charming, funny, and creatively illustrated.
Plus, they're really fun to read with a British acccent.
Kids love Charlie and Lola. Period. They're on TV now, so that just about guarantees their popularity. I know I can't keep the books on the shelves in the library. But honestly, that's okay with me. They're charming, funny, and creatively illustrated.
Plus, they're really fun to read with a British acccent.
Read
June 14, 2008Charlie and Lola are always winners in our house. This one was based on an episode written by Samantha Hill. The problem is that Lola needs to stay tidy for her school picture and...she has difficulty doing so. Charlie comes in quickly near the end to fulfill his role of helping her use her imagination, but the whole structure comes off well, mostly because of Lola's innocence as she progressively musses herself up.
November 20, 2009
We've seen the television show, but Tamsin got us interested in the books. The pictures and text are fun to look at and read and the stories are always funny. This one is about Lola getting her picture taken at school. Despite her efforts to stay clean, she gets very messy before the photograph is taken. She still has a great smile, though. It's just how pictures usually go in our family!
October 6, 2008
Charlie and Lola are always great. This is about school picture day and how Lola tries so hard to not get her clothes messy. Charlie is, as always, a good big brother. Just TRY to not read this aloud in a British accent! I dare you!
December 12, 2009
Another book Sam liked to read at 20 months. I was surprised that he liked this, since he would have no idea what taking a school picture is all about, but he picked it out on his own to read several nights in a row.
November 16, 2013
My children loved this book. Lola was hilarious. Lola is filled with excitement and fun and all of her adventures (even just trying to stay clean and neat) are fun to read about. My children are 9 and 6 and they still love this book.
September 24, 2008
It's ok, might teach children to cut up pictures. Cute story.
March 29, 2009
As another review said, the Charlie said, Lola said, Lotta said made it really awkward to read. I prefer the TV version.
April 26, 2009
Beyond the tomato, this is by far my 2nd fav Lola & Charlie title. It's picture day at school and Lola just cannot stay clean. But she has a nice smile. Fun, amusing and the girls enjoyed it.
July 8, 2009
After reading this book to Q, she said, "I would give that book a 1 star" but she didn't say why.
July 8, 2009
Difficult to read because of all the "Lola says..." and "Lotta says.." it makes it a very choppy read.
April 26, 2010
I think this may have been a TV episode, although I can't find it on youtube.
June 3, 2011
This is not our most read Charlie and Lola book, but it is the one my daughter talks about often. She promised on her preschool picture day that she would not be like Lola. Wonderful books!
October 15, 2011
This is an excellent book to read to students on picture day!
October 21, 2011
Charlie & Lola made me look at the world with child's perspective - full of imagination!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews