Green Drops and Moonsquirters Lauren Child exhibition - review

Yesterday I went to the opening of a superb new exhibition by Fido 'Green Drops and Moonsquirters - The Utterly imaginative world of Lauren Child.' There was a small crowd waiting for the doors to open, mainly little girls dressed in colourful raincoats clutching their favourite LC picture book and their parents who seemed even more excited.

Then as the clock chimed ten the doors of the Manchester Art Gallery opened and out stepped a crocodile!

Well not a real one but the costume was impressive (and very heavy!)
We all went inside where there was a row of tables laid out with stickers and bits of collage for children to colour and make pictures which was sadly bypassed by most until later for either the book signing queue or the exhibition itself.
I chose the later and bravely climbed up to the second floor (I get all nervous about steps with gaps in) to the smallish room where the special exhibition is being held. (There's a lift for those with prams - which was very busy as you'd imagine.)
First impressions was that a lot of time and effort had been spent on making sure Green Drops and Moonsquirters appeals to young children but also grown ups - especially those who want to know about the creative process.

There are sets for playing in but also plenty of pieces of original art including explanations from Lauren as to how she began writing, how she turned to making lampshades because all the publishers turned down her (now best-selling) Clarice Bean books.
You can learn about her influences, which include one of my favourite illustrators Edward Gorey and see one of the dot pictures she did for Damien Hirst when she was his assistant. There are parts dedicated to her most famous book characters including Charlie and Lola, Herb and Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent.
There are also details on how Lauren worked with a photographer on Princess and the Pea and how a designer helped bring her ideas to fruition on a forthcoming book about a poodle (which reminded me of the one in 'A Coyote in the House,' that I read recently.
She also writes about the book 'that pesky rat' and how it was inspired by a time in her life when she didn't have a home of her own and had to rely on friend's generosity. The book was then used to launch a UNESCO campaign with all proceeds from he new edition going to help street children and children living in poverty.


Lauren has also visited Mexico City to see work being done there to help children and is now working on a new project called 'My Life is a Story' which will give these children 'a voice and help them to feel connected with the rest of the world.'
I had a good look around the exhibition and found it really inspiring and insightful, then made my way downstairs and where a much larger crowd had joined the book signing queue - and there was Lauren at the end looking very pretty and smiley.

There was just time for me to call in the shop - which has lots of Lauren Child books and goodies where I picked up a pre-signed copy of Clarice Bean for myself.

I really recommend the exhibition which runs at Manchester Art Gallery, until September 21st, entry is free, and don't forget to share your comments on it if you do go.

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