By Lauren Child

Published by Orchard Books ISBN 9781408339008

Review by Priya Bual

Charlie and Lola are back once again, bringing fun and creativity to what is generally such a mundane subject, numbers!

Charlie and Lola go on an adventure to the shops where they can pick ‘one thing’. On the way Charlie tells the story of how the day goes, using numbers through time, counting and quantities. Lola of course becomes distracted and is full of questions for Charlie to explain. Child’s manages to create a fun, dynamic storyline where kids can learn the multiple uses in numbers, time, and even simple maths. A subject that has a large importance to children however is sometimes spoilt with boring step by step counting and simplicity similar to school. One Thing: Featuring Charlie and Lola visually and narratively goes through the basics in a tone that kids and adults can relate to, “What comes after twelve?’ I say, ‘Missing going to the shops comes after twelve… Hurry Up!’”

Lauren Child’s illustrations are consistent with the Charlie and Lola series. Numbers are featured in bold red to stand out and float around the page as if to visualise Charlie and Lola speaking, throwing away each number as they come. The mixes between collage and hand illustrations are balanced well throughout the book and which complements the colour spreads and spot illustrations. Each page is a bold and exciting spread of text, illustrations and numbers!

A bright and colourful book, Charlie and Lola help children to learn about numbers positively and provokes readers to count along throughout the book! A wonderful read for children who are embarking on their first steps with numeracy.

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