I am Wishing Every Minute for Christmas by Lauren Child

"I have this little sister Lola. She is small and very funny. If Lola even thinks about Christmas she can't sit still on her chair. If you breathe the word Christmas she hops up and down. If you say 'Christmas is coming' she just runs round and round."

Lola is desperate for the arrival of Christmas. She absolutely cannot wait. But it is only September. Her brother knows Christmas is a long way off but Lola has no sense of time and she simply cannot wait! Time is such an abstract concept plus there is absolutely no point in expecting Lola to be PATIENT.

Charlie has a great idea. If he can keep Lola busy with Christmas tasks the time will pass more quickly. They make Christmas lists; write Christmas cards (to everyone including Soren Lorensen Lola's imaginary friend); create decorations like paper chains and stars; then comes the decorating of the tree; and the making of an advent calendar. 

"Behind each door is a picture, if there are skates we'll go skating ..."

A new Charlie and Lola book and a new Christmas book and today is Christmas Day! Here is an interview with Lauren Child about this book which is a celebration of 25 years of Charlie and Lola. We were so lucky here in Sydney when Lauren Child spoke at our Sydney Writers Festival. 

Merry Happy Yummy Christmas to everyone. Perhaps Santa left this book under YOUR tree. 

And after Christmas you should head out to your local library to borrow and read lots more Charlie and Lola books:

Book 1: I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato (2000) 

Book 2: I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed (2001) 

Book 3: I Am Too Absolutely Small For School (2003) 

Book 4: I Completely Love Winter (2005)

Book 5: But Excuse Me, That Is My Book (2006)

Book 6: We Honestly Can Look After Your Dog (2006) 

Book 7: Whoops! But It Wasn't Me!  (2007)

Book 8: I’m Really Ever So Not Well (2008)

Book 9: Say Cheese (2008)

Book 10: Slightly Invisible (2010)

Book 11: This is Actually My Party (2011) 

Book 12: Look After Your Planet (2011)

Book 13: We Completely Must Go to London (2012)

Book 14: I Completely Know About Guinea Pigs (2012)

Book 15: I Will Especially Be Very Careful (2012)

Book 16: Sizzles, where are You? (2013)

Book 17: I Absolutely Love Animals 2013

Book 18: Snow Is My Favourite and My Best (2014) 

Book 19: My Best, Best Friend (2014)

Book 20: One Thing (2015)

Book 21: A Dog with Nice Ears (2018)

Plus others.

Mary Poppins illustrated by Lauren Child adapted from the book by PL Travers

 

If you want to share Mary Poppins with your child or grandchild I highly recommend this scrumptious illustrated edition. Mary Poppins was first published in 1934. For this book Lauren Child has selected seven of the twelve chapters from the original book - her personal favourites. In an amazing discovery I found I still had my childhood copy from 1958 and so I am happy to say the text has not been changed it is just a shorter book because Lauren Child left out five chapters (this is not important to me).

"I chose to set my illustrated edition in the 1930s echoing the period in which it was first published. Many of the characters' costumes are based on clothing from that time, although - because we can never really be sure where Mary comes from, or if she's even of this world - I dressed her in a more Edwardian style but with a contemporary twist."

See inside the book and here the seven chapters:

• East Wind
• The Day Out
• Laughing Gas
• Miss Lark's Andrew
• The Bird Woman
• John and Barbara's story (not seen in the Disney movie)
• West Wind

Here is a quote from the scene when Mary and Bert enter the chalk picture and Mary finds her clothes are transformed:

"She, too, discovered, had changed. Round her shoulders hung a cloak of lovely artificial silk with watery patters all over it, and the tickling feeling at the back of her neck came, the mirror told her, from a long curly feather that swept down from the brim of her hat. Her best shoes had disappeared, and in their place were others much finer and with large diamond buckles shining upon them."

I loved Mary Poppins as a child and I have a nostalgic memory of a Mary Poppins board game or it might have been paper dolls or even a jigsaw. I also loved the movie of course and I had this record too. More recently I used a song from the movie (not from the book) about suffragettes with my senior classes as a part of their democracy unit of work. 

From the movie I especially loved the scene when they all jump into the chalk picture - I loved their colourful clothes in those scenes, the merry-go-round and the delicious afternoon tea. I also wanted that carpet bag and her umbrella!

My copy of the book had this pink jacket.

Take a look here to see many other editions of Mary Poppins. My most favourite song in the movie is Feed the Birds. Here is the illustration of that scene by Lauren Child.

You should also look for these large format classic books illustrated by Lauren Child:

My friend an I have a plan to find the Mary Poppins statue in Ashfield.