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Lauren Child's artwork is very distinctive and very popular I spent Saturday with my head in Elmore Leonard's first children's book 'A Coyote's in the House'. I've never read any E.L before although I've seen a couple of film based on his books. His material is usually very adult, and he's probably not an author you'd expect to turn his hand to writing for children. I really enjoyed the book, it has a very distinctive style and I like the plot that a Hollywood star dog and a coyote want to change places. The book was made even more enjoyable by the Lauren Child illustrations. Which brings me to the point of today's blog - a fabulous new exhibition coming to Manchester and then touring nationwide. Green Drops and Moonsquirters: The Utterly Imaginative World of Lauren Child opens at Manchester Art Gallery on Saturday 21 June with a family friendly day. The interactive exhibition is open from 10am - 5pm and will feature some of Lauren's best-loved characters including Charlie and Lola and Clarice Bean. You will be able to get your book signed by Lauren Child (at 10.30am), make Charlie and Lola inspired accessories together and special delicacies like green drops and pink milk. I didn't know that Lauren studied at Manchester Polytechnic, nor that she's was an artist's assistant for Damien Hirst. Lauren, who recently revamped the Pippy Longstocking stories, has a very distinctive style, she explains: "I draw the figures in pencil. I just can't use pen and ink. Pencil is much less inhibiting and I can rub it out if it goes wrong. I scan the pencil drawing into the compter, clean up the line, and print it black on cartridge paper so I can continue to work on it with paints, collage or whatever. Then I cut out the figures and scan them into the computer again." The exhibition will feature a series of playhouses based around her most popular characters, over thirty original illustrations and a selection of 3D sets and dolls house furniture created for The Princess and the Pea. Green Drops And Moonsquirters is a free exhibition which will premiere at the gallery from June 21 until September 21, before touring to museums and galleries around the UK. Exhibition and activities have been specially designed for under 7s and their families.

Writers are often advised to sit in malls or other public places and eavesdrop--you know, get a feel for what real people say, maybe even write some of it down.

Here's what I overheard at the grocery store:

Man: Just me and cheese, that is my desire. Me and cheese.

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Man: C'mere! Look at all this yogurt! They have cherry, strawberry, banana--you can have any flavor you want.

Kid: I want this one.

Woman: No! You'll just waste money.

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Kid: Mo-om! He scratched me.

Woman: What is the rule? What is the rule?

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Woman: Horseradish and mayo . . . horseradish and mayo. [Okay, this one was me. I tend to recite my list out loud once I've relinquished my mind to the grocery store zone.]

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Kid: Hey, Mommy--

Woman: I'm not buying that.

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Man: We spent Thanksgiving at my mom's. She did the cookin' and I did the peelin' the potatoes.

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Man: Paper or plastic?