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Lauren Child

CBE
Child at Waterstones, Piccadilly, London, 2018
Child at Waterstones, Piccadilly, London, 2018
Born Helen Child
(1965-11-29) 29 November 1965 (age 59)
Berkshire, England
Occupation Illustrator, writer
Education Manchester Polytechnic
London Art School (briefly)
Period 1999–present
Genre Children's picture books 10+ Fiction
Notable works Charlie and Lola, Clarice Bean, Ruby Redfort
Notable awards Kate Greenaway Medal
2000

Lauren Margot Peachy Child (born Helen Child; 29 November 1965) is a famous English author and illustrator for children's books. She is most well-known for creating the popular Charlie and Lola picture book series. Her stories and drawings are loved by many young readers.

Lauren Child first introduced the characters Charlie and Lola in 2000. Their first book was called I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato. This book won the important Kate Greenaway Medal. This award is given each year for the best illustrations in a children's book. Later, this book was even chosen as one of the top ten winning books from the past 50 years of the award!

About Lauren Child's Life

Lauren Child was born in Berkshire, England, in 1965. She grew up in Marlborough, Wiltshire. Her father was an art teacher, and her mother taught at a primary school. Lauren was the middle child of three sisters. She changed her first name from Helen to Lauren when she was young.

She studied art for a short time at Manchester Polytechnic and later at City and Guilds of London Art School. Before becoming a full-time author, she even started her own company. It was called Chandeliers for the People, and she made lampshades!

In 1999, Lauren Child published her first two picture books. These were I Want a Pet! and Clarice Bean, That's Me. The Clarice Bean book was very popular. It was almost a winner for the Greenaway Medal and was also shortlisted for the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.

The next year, she won the Greenaway Medal for I Will Not Ever, NEVER Eat a Tomato. This was the first book in the Charlie and Lola series. She also won another Smarties Prize in 2002 for her book That Pesky Rat. In the same year, she wrote her first children's novel, Utterly Me, Clarice Bean.

Lauren Child uses many different art styles in her illustrations. She often uses magazine cut-outs, collage, fabric, and even photographs. She also uses traditional watercolours.

Her Charlie and Lola books were turned into a popular TV show. It was made by Tiger Aspect for CBeebies. Lauren Child was an Associate Producer for the show. The Charlie and Lola TV series has been shown all over the world. It won BAFTA awards in 2007 for Best Children's Television Show and Best Script.

In 2017, Lauren Child was chosen as the new Children's Laureate for the UK. This is a special role given to a children's author or illustrator. They help to promote reading and children's literature.

The World of Charlie and Lola

Main article: Charlie and Lola

Charlie and Lola is a very popular series of picture books. It was created by Lauren Child. Later, it became a well-loved TV show for children.

Each TV episode has two short stories. They always start with Charlie saying, "I have this little sister, Lola. She is small and very funny."

Lauren Child got her ideas for the characters from real life. Charlie was based on her boyfriend, Soren. He used to wear shirts like Charlie's! Lola was inspired by a little girl she saw on a train. This girl was very curious and asked lots of questions. Lola's imaginary friend, Soren Lorenson, was named after her boyfriend's sister's imaginary brother.

Meet Clarice Bean

Main article: Clarice Bean series

The Clarice Bean series includes both picture books and novels. These books are written by Lauren Child for children and young teenagers. The main character's full name is Clarice Bean Tuesday.

Clarice is best friends with Betty P Moody. Karl Wrenbury is another one of her friends. Clarice is not very good at spelling, and she loves to daydream. Her family is quite big! It includes her mum, dad, younger brother Minal Cricket, older sister Marcie, and her even older brother Kurt. She also has a grandad and a granny who lives in America and calls often.

Clarice Bean is a big fan of a book series called Ruby Redfort. Lauren Child later decided to write the Ruby Redfort books herself. The first Ruby Redfort book came out in 2011.

Here are the books in the Clarice Bean series:

  • Clarice Bean, That's Me (picture book) - This book is all about Clarice's big family.
  • My Uncle is a Hunkle, Says Clarice Bean (picture book) - Clarice's parents go away, and her uncle looks after her.
  • What Planet Are You From Clarice Bean? (picture book) - Clarice and her brother Kurt try to save Earth.
  • Utterly Me, Clarice Bean (novel) - Clarice has to do a boring book project, but she wants to win a prize.
  • Clarice Bean Spells Trouble (novel) - Clarice gets into big trouble because of spelling.
  • Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now! (novel) - Clarice has a list of worries and tries to figure out her biggest worry.

The Adventures of Ruby Redfort

In 2009, Lauren Child signed a deal to write a new series called Ruby Redfort. Ruby Redfort is a character that fans of the Clarice Bean series already knew. She was Clarice Bean's favorite book character!

Ruby is a super smart code-cracker and a brave detective. She is also a special agent with lots of cool gadgets. The amazing thing is, she's only thirteen years old! Ruby and her clever butler, Hitch, solve crimes and get into many exciting situations with bad villains. But they always stay calm and cool.

The first book in the series, Ruby Redfort: Look into My Eyes, was released in 2011.

Lauren Child worked with a mathematician named Marcus du Sautoy to create the secret codes in the books. The main codes in all five books are based on the five senses. For example, the first book uses codes based on sight.

Here are the books in the Ruby Redfort series:

  • Ruby Redfort, Look into My Eyes (2011)
  • Ruby Redfort, Take Your Last Breath (2012)
  • Ruby Redfort, Catch Your Death (2013)
  • Ruby Redfort, Feel The Fear (2014)
  • Ruby Redfort, Pick Your Poison (2015)
  • Ruby Redfort, Blink And You Die (2016)

There is also a handbook for the series called Hang in There Bozo: The Ruby Redfort Emergency Survival Guide for Some Tricky Predicaments.

Lauren Child's Works

As writer and illustrator

  • Clarice Bean, That's Me (1999)
  • I Want a Pet! (1999)
  • Beware of the Storybook Wolves (2000)
  • I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato (2000)
  • My Uncle is a Hunkle Says Clarice Bean (2000)
  • I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed (2001)
  • My Dream Bed (2001)
  • What Planet Are You From Clarice Bean? (2001)
  • That Pesky Rat (2002)
  • Utterly me, Clarice Bean (2002)
  • Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? (2002)
  • I Am Too Absolutely Small for School (2003)
  • Clarice Bean Spells Trouble (2004)
  • Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent (2004)
  • Bat Cat (2005)
  • Beware of Storybook Wolves (2005)
  • The Princess and the Pea (2005)
  • Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now (2006)
  • Who Wants to be a Poodle, I Don't (2009)
  • Slightly Invisible (2010)
  • The New Small Person (2015)
  • How To Raise Your Grown-Ups (2018)

As writer

  • Ruby Redfort, Look into My Eyes (2011)
  • Ruby Redfort, Take Your Last Breath (2012)
  • Maude: The Not-so-noticeable Shrimpton (2012)
  • Ruby Redfort, Hang in There Bozo (2013)
  • Ruby Redfort, Catch Your Death (2013)
  • Ruby Redfort, Feel The Fear (2014)
  • Ruby Redfort, Pick Your Poison (2015)
  • Ruby Redfort, Blink And You Die (2016)

As illustrator

  • Addy the Baddy (1993)
  • Stand Up for Yourself! (1996)
  • The Complete Poetical Works of Phoebe Flood (1997)
  • Dream On, Daisy! (2001)
  • I'd Like a Little Word, Leonie (2001)
  • Just You Wait, Winona (2001)
  • What's the Matter, Maya? (2001)
  • You Must Be Joking, Jimmy! (2001)
  • You're a Disgrace, Daisy (2001)
  • Dan's Angel: A Detective's Guide to the Language of Painting (2002)
  • Pippi Longstocking (2007)
  • Anne of Green Gables series (2008, 2009)

Awards and Honours

Lauren Child has received many awards for her amazing work in children's literature. She was even appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her contributions.

Here are some of her awards:

See also

In Spanish: Lauren Child para niños

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