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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.

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Unblogged books, in order of reading-- we have 2 left from October of 2006... (short and pithy, because I don't remember these books very well.)

The Last Book In The Universe Rodman Philbrick

Spaz is an epileptic living in a post-apocalyptic world. There are no books, just mind probes that leave people empty shells of nothing. In order to save his sister, he has to cross several border lands, dealing with their gangs and security to get to the land of the "proves"-- the promised land populated by people who have been genetically improved.

An excellent adventure.

Wait for Me An Na

Yawn. Mina has lied about her academic prowress and that's about to come bite her in the butt. Her mom's a total bitch. She's been stealing from the family's dry-cleaning business. She likes this guy. Her little sister's deaf and depends on her for everything.

It could have been good, but... eh. It dragged and was boring and Mina was totally unsympathetic and so I didn't really care.

Woo-hoo! Unto November!

Pop! Aury Wallington

This was fun, nothing fantastic, but a nice little book about losing your virginity. Marit wants it gone, but freaks out when things get physical. Enter best friend Jamie, who isn't really a good choice for sex without attachment, because Marit still likes hot-boy Noah.

While the plot is a little unrealistic and happy-go-lucky, it's the kind I like in fun, sunny afternoon reads.

The sex scenes are hilariously accurate.

Lowji Discovers America Candace Fleming

A funny little book about a young boy trying to fit into small-town Illinois after growing up in Bombay. Moving just after school gets out, Lowji is bored and wants a pet. He quickly convinces his grouchy land-lady that a cat would help with the mouse problem and a dog would be a good burglar alarm, Lowji wins over the neighborhood.

Cute and written in the formal, slightly stilted English of a non-native speaker.

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