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Charlie and Lola are the principal characters from a series of children's picture books by Lauren Child.
Charlie and Lola are the principal characters from a series of children's picture books by Lauren Child. The stories are all narrated by seven year-old Charlie, and focus on the antics of his feisty four year-old sister, Lola. The books as well as the television series also emphasise the relationship between closely-aged siblings.
The first "Charlie and Lola" book, I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato, published in 2001, won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal. The character of Lola was based upon an inquisitive little girl whom Child encountered on a train in Denmark.
The books have been adapted by Tiger Aspect into a cartoon series, using a collage style of animation which accurately captures the style of the original books. 2D cel animation, paper cutout, fabric design, real textures, photomontage and archive footage are all employed. The cartoons are also notable for their use of children's voices, rather than adult voice actors, a technique pioneered by the Peanuts television specials. (Both the books and the cartoon also mirror Peanuts' technique of never showing adults.) The first series of 26 episodes (11 minutes each) was first broadcast on November 7th 2005 on CBeebies [1]. The second series of 26 episodes (again, 11 minutes each) started broadcasting on CBeebies on October 2nd 2006 (with the morning broadcast also being shown on BBC Two). In the television series, Charlie is eight and Lola is five, and goes to school (her teacher is called Mrs. Hansen). In episodes of both the first and second series, Charlie celebrates his birthday (in 'It's a Secret...' and 'This Is Actually My Party'), although this doesn't seem to affect his age in other episodes. it is unknown if the show is still in production
In some countries, the episodes are packaged as double-bills. In Germany, the episodes are shown on their own on the children´s channel KI.KA but also included in the long-running show Die Sendung mit der Maus (The Programme with the Mouse) on KI.KA and ARD.
The complete first season is out and available as a box set in a special charlie and lola design tin. You can also buy season one as a box set, or individually titled one, two, three and four. Number five will soon be available. Volume 4 is not yet released in the USA, Canada and Australia, and is set for release in 2007.
It has been nominated for Best Animated Television Production at the 34th Annual Annie Awards.
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