Taken The Precise Moment She Realized Another Episode Of Charlie And Lola Was In Her Immediate Future

A Note To Follow So

A quick primer of Shea's World focusing, randomly, on two-syllable words that begin with the letter L.

LOLA
Lola is perhaps Shea's favorite television character and she asks for her by name daily. As one of the two stars of Charlie and Lola, she gets into tons of adorable mischief, isn't afraid to get dirty, and tests her brother's patience on a regular basis. She's Shea's hero.

LOLO
This is Logan, Finney's best buddy and Shea's first real-life crush (the girl's got great taste, no?). He's very sweet and regularly indulges her requests for hugs and hellos before he gallantly dashes off to the playground with Finn. Shea calls him "Lolo," and as she does tiny hearts evaporate off the top of her little head.



LILO
Lilo lives in Hawaii, does a beautiful hula dance, and loves everything about the ocean. She's who I'm hoping Shea will resemble in a couple years.



LALA
Lala is the yellow Teletubbie. She has a curl on her head, just like Shea, and they have roughly similar vocabularies at this point.

LULU
This is a dress from the wonderful little girl's clothing line, Baby Lulu. Their stuff is super cute, unbelievably soft, and ridiculously expensive. But we've managed to find a few pieces in the second-hand kids shops and on eBay, which look great on Shea.

Charlie And Lola

Here in Parentville, "Charlie and Lola" is one of our favorite animated shows. Favourite family programmes, I suppose I should say, since it comes from England and, unfortunately, only lasts 15 minutes at a time, rather than the standard 30.

It's the charming story of an older brother and younger sister and the fun adventures they find themselves in, all rendered in a simple yet whimsical line-drawing style and filled in with broad markers and scraps of fabric/paper that look like something unearthed from your grandmother's attic. (It always reminds me of what poet Stevie Smith's drawings would look like if they came to life and weren't so suicidal and depressive.)

John especially loves the program because I think it reminds him of what Finn and Shea will (hopefully) be like in a few years. He loves it so much, in fact, that he's been in a funk since the PBS syndicate here in Southern California changed its regular air time a couple weeks ago and he's now unable to watch it with Shea during their early morning father-and-daughter bonding session before work each day. "Bear in the Big Blue House totally sucks," he recently vented, in response to the show that took C&L's former slot. Priorities, people; we've certainly got 'em.

As siblings, Charlie and Lola occasionally spat, of course, but it's always in a kind, respectful, very British and articulate kind of way. Charlie, the infinitely patient older brother, is continually charmed by his silly and funny little sister, while Lola, the feisty sparkplug of a little sister, adores her older brother and wants to be part of everything he does. Idyllic? Yes. Realistic? Probably not. Heartwarming nevertheless? You betcha.

In the morass of insipid children's programming and uninspired, flat animation, C&L is a viewing highlight. Its visuals are dear without being saccharine, its music playful without delving into Muzak, and its message sweet without being preachy. Well done, Charlie and Lola. May our children one day love you as much as their parents do.