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Children's reading lists

16 of the best children’s books about love

Charlie and Lola: But Excuse Me That is My Book

Beetles, Bugs and Butterflies is Lola's absolute favourite book ever in the whole wide world. So naturally she is distraught when it's not at the library. Someone else has borrowed it! Charlie tries everything he can think of to placate her but nothing is ever going to beat Beetles, Bugs and Butterflies. That is, until Charlie finds Chimps and Chimpanzees and then Lola has a new best book ever!

Lauren Child is one of today's most talented and innovative children's author/illustrators. Winner of the Nestle Smarties Book Prize and the Kate Greenaway Medal, she is best known for creating the characters Clarice Bean and the BAFTA-award-winning Charlie and Lola. She is also co-creator of The Princess and the Pea and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Charlie and Lola is now a top-rated BBC children's television show and a huge international hit produced by Tiger Aspect Productions, one of the UK's most successful and prolific independent television producers.

The New Small Person

Elmore Green started life as an only child, as many children do. He had a room all to himself, and everything in it was his. But one day, everything changed. 
This brand new picture book from the hugely talented Lauren Child about the arrival of a new sibling is bound to be a hit with parents and children. Told with humour and with wonderfully stylish artwork, this is Lauren Child at her absolute best.

Charlie and Lola: I Completely Love Winter

Charlie and Lola: I Completely Love Winter - by Lauren Child 
This really very good Charlie and Lola book includes two wintery stories: Snow is My Favourite and My Best and I Really Need Actual Ice Skates. This wonderful book is perfect for fans of Charlie and Lola, and for cold winter bedtimes. 
Based on the award-winning books by Lauren Child,Charlie and Lola is now a top-rated BBC children's television show and a huge international hit. Lauren is also the multi-talented prize-winning creator of Clarice Bean.Charlie and Lola is produced by Tiger Aspect Productions, one of the UK's most successful and prolific independent television producers.

Charlie has this little sister Lola. She is small and very funny... 
This really very good Charlie and Lola book includes two wintery stories: Snow is My Favourite and My Best and I Really Need Actual Ice Skates. This wonderful book is perfect for fans of Charlie and Lola, and for cold winter bedtimes.

Charlie and Lola: I Absolutely Love Animals

Lola loves guinea pigs, and wishes more than anything that she can take home the classroom guinea pig, Bert. With a little help from her friends and Charlie, she learns all there is to learn about guinea pigs. But caring for a pet is a big responsibility... Is Lola up to the challenge? 
 
Charlie and Lola's love of animals continues in the second story, in which they care for their new pet mouse, Nibbles. As they discover, mice are extremely clever and seriously brave; Nibbles, an expert tightrope-walker, is no exception. Join Charlie, Lola and Nibbles as they embark on a heartwarming journey of adventure and friendship.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Once upon a time, on the edge of a big dark forest there lived a little girl called Goldilocks. You have probably heard of her? If so, you will know three things: she was small, she had lots of golden curls and she had far too much curiosity for her own good. So when Goldilocks discovers an intriguing wooden cottage deep in the forest, she just can't resist peeking inside. Now why would there be one, two, three of everything . . .? Lauren Child brings her trademark innovative approach to this wonderfully warm and witty retelling of the classic cautionary tale, and adds her own clever twist. Following the success of The Princess and the Pea, she once again joins forces with award-winning portrait photographer Polly Borland, whose stunning photography brings this truly original picture book startlingly to life. They are joined by a talented theatre designer, Emily Jenkins, who has designed and created an enchanting hand-crafted miniature world. The sets for the book took over a year to make. The doll-sized cottage, complete with winding staircase, stands about a metre tall. Real turf was grown for the roof. Special wallpaper and fabrics were designed and printed, featuring woodland motifs. Exquisite miniature furniture, including the three bears' beds, chairs and porridge bowls, were carved, crafted and painted by Emily and her team of designers. Tiny slippers were sewn, cushions stuffed and bed linen edged and folded. The tiny spoons were carved specially - even the porridge is real!The cast of characters were made by world-famous doll maker, R. John Wright, whose dolls and bears sell to collectors all over the world. Goldilocks is 30 centimetres tall and made of soft felt with hand-painted features; her golden locks are made of the softest mohair. She arrived from America complete with a tiny hand-woven basket of felt daisies, which you can see her carrying in the book. Mother, Father and Baby Bear are all made from the softest fur and have tiny resin claws. Father Bear arrived with a hand-carved wooden pipe, which, if you look very closely, you can spot in the pictures, warming by the fire.

My Completely Best Story Collection

The first ever Charlie &amp; Lola audio CD! Featuring five classic Charlie &amp; Lola stories specially adapted for audio

Charlie and Lola, first seen in I Will Not Ever NEVER Eat a Tomato, are stars of the screen, page, and now audio. First aired on prime time children&rsquo;s BBC in October 2005 and now available on DVD, Charlie and Lola are enjoying superstardom! The fabulous audio collection contains five classic Charlie and Lola stories, enhanced with music, sound effects, and classic Charlie and Lola dialogue. The five fantastic audio adventures include the classic stories: We HONESTLY can look after your Dog; My Wobbly Tooth must not ever, NEVER fall out; I've Won, no i've won, No I've won; Whoops! But it wasn't Me; and Snow is my Favourite and my Best. With an all-star cast featuring Charlie, Lola, Lotta, Marv, Soren Lorensen, as well as Sizzles the dog.

The Princess and the Pea

Hugely successful and utterly unique retelling, now available as a sumptuous paperback.

Lauren Child's beautiful and artistic retelling of The Princess and the Pea. 
 
The tale of a prince, a princess, perfect politeness, pages of love and a peculiarly hard pea. This utterly original interpretation of the classic tale has dazzling illustrations from multi-talented collaborators, award-winning Lauren Child and widely acclaimed photographer Polly Borland. This beautifully presented picture book explores the tale of the down-to-earth princess through a stunning mix of artwork and photography to create a fairy tale to be treasured. 
 
Lauren Child is the multi-talented prize-winning creator of the characters Charlie and Lola and Clarice Bean. She has won the Smarties Gold Award, Smarties Bronze Award, Kate Greenaway Medal and been shortlisted for the Children's Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Lauren lives in London. 
 
Polly Borland is a widely acclaimed, award winning photographer, famous for her vivid portraits. She is one of the few people to have been allowed into to Buckingham Palace to photograph the Queen and has had her own exhibition at London's National Portrait Gallery. Born in Australia, Polly now lives in Brighton but continues to work all over the world 
 
Look out for Lauren Child's Charlie and Lola books: 
 
We Honestly Can Look After Your Dog; But Excuse Me That is My Book; My Collecting Sticker Book; My Picnic Sticker Book; My Very Busy Sticker Book; My Completely Best Story Collection; I'm Really Ever So Not Well; My Completely Best Story Collection; My Extremely Good Story Collection; Snow is my Favourite and My Best; We Honestly Can Look After Your Dog; My Especially Busy Box of Books; Whoops! But it wasn't Me; I am Really, Really Concentrating; My Best, Best Friend; This is Actually My Party; I really Wonder What Plant I'm Growing; I Will Be Especially Very Careful; My Doodling and Colouring-In Book; Sizzles, Where Are You?; I Absolutely Love Animals; You Won't Like this Present as Much as I Do; I am Inventing an Invention 
 
And other books by Lauren Child: 
 
The Princess and the Pea; The Secret Garden; Who Wants to be a Poodle? I don't!; Maude, the Not-So-Noticeable Shrimpton; Clarice Bean; Ruby Redfort

The tale of a prince, a princess, perfect politeness, pages of love and a peculiarly hard pea. This utterly original interpretation of the classic tale has dazzling illustrations from multi-talented collaborators, award-winning Lauren Child and widely acclaimed photographer Polly Borland. This beautifully presented picture book explores the tale of the down-to-earth princess through a stunning mix of artwork and photography to create a fairy tale to be treasured.

John Wilson

Bill Morris

Marcus du Sautoy

Tasmin Little

Lauren Child

Gary Rhodes

Digby Jones

Rachel Portman

Michael Portillo

Andrea Levy

The complete BBC Radio 4 series

Major public figures go back to their beginnings and uncover where they really started 
 
John Wilson (acclaimed arts and culture reporter and journalist, and presenter of Front Row, Newsnight Review and Pick of the Week) meets up with a variety of public figures from such diverse fields as food, mathematics, politics, writing and music, and takes them back to the influential schools, teachers, and early workplaces they may have forgotten, but which have not forgotten them. 
 
His guests include the first Black trade union leader, Lord Bill Morris; classical violinist Tasmin Little; the late restaurateur and television chef, Gary Rhodes; Lord Digby Jones, former Minister of State for Trade and Investment; the late Women's Prize and Costa Book Award winning author, Andrea Levy; veteran journalist, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo, and many more. The locations too are widely varied and richly formative - from car component manufacturers and specialist vocational institutions to grammar and private schools. 
 
Top of the Class is a fascinating look beneath the usual façade of a public figure, perfect for anyone wanting to see the human face behind a successful life story, as well as the teachers, mentors, best friends and rivals who helped them grow into the person they became. 
 
Episode guide 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
Bill Morris 28 July 2008 
Tasmin Little 4 August 2008 
Lauren Child 11 August 2008 
Gary Rhodes 18 August 2008 
Marcus du Sautoy 28 December 2010 
Rachel Portman 18 January 2011 
Lord Digby Jones 25 January 2011 
Michael Portillo 19 July 2011 
Andrea Levy 26 July 2011 
 
Production credits 
Presented by John Wilson 
Produced by Sarah Taylor 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Top of the Class

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16 of the best children’s books about love

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