This is an addendum to a post I did back in November. Writer and illustrator Lauren Child’s exhibition is currently occupying the 4^th floor at Seven Stories, The Centre for Children’s Book, in the Ouseburn Valley, in Newcastle until the 21^st of September.  I’ve been waiting for this for a while, as I’ve been tracking its movement round the country since it’s inception at Manchester Art Gallery in 2008. My 5 year old is a big fan of the Charlie and Lola books and cartoons, and It’s a bit of a shame in a way, that Charlie and Lola have been so successful, because they seem to have eclipsed her other characters, Clarice Bean, Hubert Horatio and my personal favourite, that Pesky Rat.

Now I do think that Seven Stories is a bit pricey, it cost us nearly 16 quid to get in, (2 adults/1 child) and you obviously can’t get out, without a trip through the very well stocked, children’s book shop. However, I was still pretty impressed with the Lauren Child exhibition. There’s a series of rooms where kids can dress up, colour in, play with puppets and read books, while the walls are filled with the distinctive graphic style of Lauren’s original, collage artworks with fascinating accompanying descriptions of how she went about making them, from found objects and photocopied fabrics.

We spent nearly 3 hours in total, clambering up and down the stairs, (Seven Stories doesn’t just relate to Story books!) There’s a café, story tellers, art rooms and another fascinating exhibition of the life and works of Judith Kerr, (The tiger who came to tea)… including her harrowing escape from Nazi Germany.

Greendrops and Moonsquirters. Seven Stories, The Centre for Children’s Book, Newcastle February 13^th until the 21^st of September 2010.

By Dave on February 20, 2010