Many of you out there are familiar with author Lauren Child. She is the creator of the book collections that follow brother and sister, Charlie and Lola. I am Too Absolutely Small for School was a lot of fun to read. In this playful story about Charlie and Lola, Lola is worked up over having to go to school. She insists that she is too small for school and lets her imagination take off with reason after reason why she can’t go to school. It’s up to her big brother Charlie to help Lola work through her fear…and her imagination.

Lola is most content with the knowledge she already possesses including only being able to count to 10 rather than learning how to count all the way to 100. She says she can never eat more than 10 cookies so only counting to ten is enough. Charlie then asks Lola what would she do if she had 11 eager elephants that wanted cookies? What would she do then since she can only count to 10? How would she know that she has enough for everyone to go around? Lola thinks Charlie has made a good point.

Charlie asks Lola about being excited to start reading. She could read her own books and messages left on the fridge. Of course, Lola has an answer for this too forcing Charlie to use his imagination in the most creative of ways. He asks Lola what she would do if there was a big angry ogre that refused to go to sleep until he was read his favorite bedtime story? Lola, more timid, replies with an “I don’t know,” and starts to change her tune a little about considering going to school. Maybe she’s not too absolutely small after all.

Now that Lola knows what she’ll be learning in class, thanks to her big brother Charlie, Lola moves on to her fear of making friends and eating lunch all by herself. Charlie tells her that she will meet many new friends and can have lunch with one of them. However, Lola already has a friend. An imaginary friend named Soren Lorensen and would rather eat lunch at home, with him. Charlie is sure to remind Lola that Soren Lorensen will be going to school with her. He turns the tables and tells Lola that Soren Lorensen will need her at school so he is not alone and scared. Now Lola says she will absolutely have to go to school now.

Each book that my kids and I have read together by Lauren Child have been a lot of fun. They are full of imagination and creativity. Every one of them hits on a subject or topic that all little kids encounter at some point or another and shows how to work through them on a level that younger kids can really relate to and pick up on. Her books have also been turned into a great kid’s show on NickJr and the animation is just as creative as in the books.