LAUREN CHILD, POST #3

her book collaborations with photographer Polly Borland...

Austrailian born Polly Borland, an award winning and widely acclaimed photographer, is one of the few people to have been allowed into Buckingham Palace to photograph the Queen.  Her beautiful work is a perfect compliment to Lauren Child's unique artwork and storytelling.

The finished product of their first collaboration was a stunningly original and fresh interpretation of a classic Hans Christian Andersen tale,  THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA (2006)

...REAL Princesses do not grow on trees.  You have to WAIT for one to come to you.  And if one DOES, you have to discover if she is a REAL Princess.

The queen having the servants ready the bed ready with 12 feather mattresses...
and one "small pea-green garden pea".

The photographs are of Child's miniature modeled scenes, which look like diorama theatre sets.  It's like stepping into a world of paper dolls dressed in intricately patterned costumes, positioned in delightfully furnished rooms of a royal dollhouse mansion! Girls of all ages (and maybe their aspiring Princes-to-be sibling brothers) will love this book.

The prince: "a nice boy and not unpleasant to look at--in fact, handsome--not TOO
handsome, just handsome enough."  

The Prince tells his parents,  "She must be more mesmerizing than the moon and I must find her more
fascinating than all the stars in the sky. And there must be a certain…something about her."

Child's and Borland's second team effort was GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS (2009).  

When you open this book you enter an enchanting forest with a charming cottage, captured beautifully by Polly Borland's photography. Emily Jenkins was the set designer...The sets for the book took over a year to make. The doll-sized cottage, complete with winding staircase, is in reality about a metre tall. Real turf was grown for the roof. Special wallpaper and fabrics were designed and printed, featuring woodland motifs. Exquisite miniature furniture, including the three bears' beds, chairs and porridge bowls, were carved, crafted and painted by Emily and her team of designers. Tiny slippers were sewn, cushions stuffed and bed linen edged and folded. The tiny spoons were carved specially – even the porridge is real!

And there's a twist to Lauren Child's retelling.  It has to do with red shoes. Goldilocks' mother tells her:

"Remember these three things.Do not stray from the path

Be back in time for breakfast

and whatever you do - make sure you look after your little red shoes"

Isn't the BABY BEAR cute???

The Goldilocks doll, Mother and Father Bear, and Baby Bear were created by world-famous doll maker, R. Joan Wright .