Charlie and Lola exhibition at Mottisfont, Hampshire
I have this little daughter, Minnie. She’s small and very funny*. Which is possibly why she’s become a big fan of Charlie and Lola over the past few months. And with rather wonderful timing, the first retrospective of Lauren Child’s work opened at National Trust property Mottisfont in Hampshire, just as we celebrated Minnie’s third birthday.
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So what better birthday treat than being invited down for the preview at Mottisfont and getting to meet Lauren herself to find out a bit more about her inspirations and what actually goes into the illustrations.
And it’s far more than just a Charlie and Lola exhibition, with displays from her other books including Clarice Bean, That Pesky Rat, Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent and the Storybook Wolves, among others.
For more days out in Hampshire with kids, check out my top things to do
Plus, of course, you get to see all of Mottisfont with its gorgeous walled garden, huge open lawns, a stream that Minnie decided was perfect for crocodiles to hide in, and a quick peek round the house itself.
But back to Charlie, Lola and friends. Divided into five rooms, each is themed in some way. The first focuses on the earliest books, Clarice Bean, plus Pippi Longstocking, which Lauren credits as a subconscious influence for the strong personality of her own heroine.
And you can also see the way the stories are built up, with rare full sketches, or cut-out characters which are assembled on the page and coloured in, some set against snippets from photos, but all hand-drawn.
Room two is heaven for Charlie & Lola fans, with a sneak peek at the new book due out later this year (check the pictures where Lola has a yellow raincoat) and Lauren’s own favourite ‘Slightly Invisible’.
In between, there are some more objects on display including Lola’s pyjamas – the print is based on a dress Lauren’s mother made for her and her sisters, which she hunted out and photocopied, before sewing the mini pyjamas and photographing them to be used in the book.
It’s just one example of which how much effort goes into each. A single Charlie and Lola book will take three months to complete if Lauren works on it every day – and she says that’s only because she knows Charlie and Lola’s world so well now.
Room three – Hubert Horatio and his spendthrift parents, inspired in part by the screwball comedies of Cary Grant, and showing how clever illustrating needn’t make a single page restrictive, such as the perspective used to portray the family’s cavernous mansion.
Room four is home to a few classics given Lauren’s twist – set boxes for the retelling of the Princess and the Pea, some of which had to be built to the last tiny detail to be photographed, along with illustrations from the Secret Garden.
And to finish in room five, that pesky rat and ‘Who Wants to be a Poodle’, the story of pampered Trixie Twinkle Toes who’d much rather be an ordinary dog, the two different stories designed to get children thinking about everything from homelessness to how much material possessions really matter.
Plus a craft table, in between any philosophical ponderings.
Outside, there are also trails around the grounds – these were only starting to be set up as we left, but the idea is for the characters from the books to ‘step off the pages’ and for kids to complete a puzzle as they go.
There are two versions, the full trail aimed at 6 to 11-year-olds as it includes a longer walk, and a mini version that looks just right for pre-schoolers to trot around. You get a map to guide you along the way, and keep an eye out for pesky rats dotted around.
The gardens are gorgeous regardless. On our visit, the lavender was in bloom to the bees’ delight, and we could still see the end of the famous roses in the walled garden.
The lawns seem endless (when you’re three and love to run around), and we made friends with a couple of young gymnasts practising their cartwheels and handstands – while Minnie attempted a wheelbarrow (with some help) and plenty of rolling down the mini banks onto the grass.
I suspect you could spend all day wandering the grounds alone, even when the exhibition finishes in September, although it would be a shame not to take a look round the rest of the house… especially the surprise in the bathroom up by the maids’ rooms.
But if you’ve got a mini Charlie and Lola (or Clarice Bean, or Ruby Redford, or Storybook Wolves et al) fan, I would absolutely never ever want to miss it.
Need to know: Visiting Mottisfont with kids
Entry costs from £16.50 for adults, £8.25 for children and is free to National Trust members and under fives.
There are regular art themed exhibitions at Mottisfont (the Lauren Child exhibition ran in 2015). You can also download a family fun map
*With apologies to Lauren Child
Disclosure: Our day at Mottisfont was courtesy of the National Trust. All opinions and bad pastiches are all my own. Contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission.
Images copyright MummyTravels/Cathy Winston
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Aside from the brilliant exhibition Mottisfont looks absolutely gorgeous. What a lovely idea to showcase Lauren’s work. Monkey isn’t a huge fan of Charlie and Lola but will watch if it’s on – I really like it though! Love that pic of Minnie. And can’t believe it’s her 3rd birthday soon!
It’s such a gorgeous property – we could very easily have had a lovely day without the exhibition (although that’s fantastic, and introduced me to quite a few of Lauren Child’s other books which I have t check out). It’s one of my favourite pix too, she just wandered in front of her own accord and I couldn’t stop snapping away! 🙂
What a gorgeous National Trust property. We really need to start visiting more properties as we have a few near where we live. I love Charlie and Lola however as my 2 are now 12 and 9 our Charlie and Lola days are sadly over. I would still visit the gorgeous work on display though #MondayEscapes
It is very lovely – and I always seem to visit the ones I have to travel to rather than the ones on the doorstep. Plenty to see at Mottisfont any time but it’s a lovely exhibition even if you’re not a big fan.
Looks like such a fun exhibit! These characters are whimsical and really sweet. 🙂
Very much so – lovely illustrations even if you’re not already a fan.
It is so interesting going to exhibitions about children’s book authors and the process they go through. I went to one with my son’s class last year, I was more interested than the kids.
I found it fascinating – and you’re right, probably more than my daughter who was happy to look at a few illustrations, read the books, then get on with running around outside 🙂
OMG (3x)! I love Charlie and Lola and my son loves them! I wish we can go here cuz the place looks pretty and they have CHarlie and Lola!
#MondayEscapes
Definitely – both would be great on their own, together is fantastic!
Tin Box Tot would get very excited about this – she loves Charlie and Lola. Mottisfont also looks stunning. I’m ashamed to say we love less than an hour away but have never been. Another reason to ask for NT membership for Christmas!! #mondayescapes
I definitely think that should be top of your Christmas list! The exhibition is on to September and Mottisfont is stunning, so I’d say pop over this summer too if you can…
I LOVE LAUREN CHILD. I worked in a childrens bookshop when i was 17 and I used to sit and read the Clarice Bean collection, Charlie and Lola books and Pippi Longstocking. My daughter is 15 months old and is starting to get excited over Charlie and Lola too. They’re such lovely books. I’d love to go to this exhibition and it looks like such a beautiful place too. Thank you so much for linking up to #whatevertheweather x
This sounds like your perfect day out – motivation for a trip to the south east? Mottisfont is beautiful at any time. We’ve only really read the Charlie and Lola books so far bu there are so many I discovered from the exhibition, I’ve got a big books shopping list for my daughter now.
The exhibition looks lovely, great for little Charlie and Lola fans, I’m amazed at the effort that goes into when you explain the print on the pyjamas.
The grounds look lovely too, lot of place for little ones to let off steam and have a good run around. I love your photos and Minnie’s hat is adorable, I want one!
Thanks for linking up to our #Whatevertheweather linky.
Jenny x
Thanks Jenny – it is incredible isn’t it, I had no idea how much detail she goes into. And I am quite envious of her hat myself… 🙂
I really need to join the National Trust…. looks like a fab day out, beautiful place and the exhibition is the icing on the cake! Thanks for the great idea #whatevertheweather
I am such a big fan of the National Trust – I think they’re great for kids with the ’50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4′ activities and there’s always grounds to explore, plus they usually do good cake! And that’s before the houses and exhibitions too 🙂 This is one of my favourites though.
What a wonderful place to spend the day! I envy all of you that have culture to visit. I live in such a small town.
It is a great place – not quite on the doorstep sadly but it’s wonderful to be near enough to visit.
Somewhere to add to our list to get to this summer looks like lots to do and we still love Charlie and Lola here too #CountryKids
Definitely worth a visit while the exhibition is on, although there’s loads to do even after it closes.
Oh what an adventure and a wonderful birthday treat. I bet she loved seeing all the Charlie and Lola things and always a bonus to be in those stunning grounds. Definitely an opportunity not to be missed. Thank you for sharing with me on Country Kids.
She really did – it was such a gorgeous day out for both of us, and both the exhibition and Mottisfont are wonderful separately, let alone together.
I am soooo jealous – I love Lauren Child! Saw the Lauren child exhibition years ago in Cardiff museum which was great but I would love to meet her. I wonder if the charlie and Lola exhibition will still be around next time I am in the UK.
She is just incredibly talented – I know this exhibition is only running to September, but fingers crossed there’s something similar in future.
Fabulous! I have to admit that I’m quite a fan of Charlie and Lola, one of the few kids programmes that I am actually happy to watch 🙂 I miss it being part of our routine here in the US! We have some of the books though… The house and the grounds look amazing too. What a lovely day out x #countrykids
Same here – I actually laugh along to bits of it, to my daughter’s confusion a lot of the time! A lovely place to indulge a bit of the books too.