From: Judith Ridge <judithr>
Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 21:24:49 +1000

I've been asking myself, why do I laugh myself silly over Lauren Child's books? I guess I don't like to analyse too closely why I find something funny, for fear of taking the shine off - but I'll give it a shot.

I guess it's the droll observations of the characters and the family relationships. It's Clarice Bean's naive repeating of things her parents say. It's Child's wonderful "scrapbook" illustration style and the bits and pieces she leaves around for the reader to find. It's therefore the whole package - the voice, the language, the observation, the "look".

And I'm sure that's a totally unsatisfying explanation, but I'm not sure i can get any closer to my own funnybone!

Judith Ridge Sydney, Australia
Received on Wed 08 May 2002 06:24:49 AM CDT