Pudding Now Please

This is the first in a new series featuring the favourite characters Lotta and Lola.

Here, Lola’s elder brother, Charlie acts as narrator presenting to readers/listeners a dialogue between the two friends about ‘kindness and how to have goodish manners.’ It takes place on Charlie’s return from school when their ignoring him rather than saying hello certainly would not pass the politeness test.

We join the girls as they chat about when to say ‘thank you’, which includes times when you aren’t really thankful at all; I love the way they navigate the tricky situation with the lunch time egg and then immediately after, asking – politely of course – for pudding.

This imaginative exploration will surely have young listeners and adult readers aloud laughing out loud. Its large size, with vibrant, humorous illustrations makes this a really fun way to explore with children the subject of manners, which are a vital part of communication. Lauren assuredly has listened carefully to a lot of young children chatting before creating this distinctive start to her latest series.

It’s a must have book for Foundation stage settings: I’d love to be able to listen in to young children’s responses after a sharing session.