HERE COMES LOLO

Bright and cheerful Lolo is the star of the show in this new chapter-book series from South Africa.

Lolo is a little black girl who lives with her mother and grandmother. Lolo is a sensitive child but takes reassurance from the love of her mother and Gogo. In the first chapter, “A Gold Star and a Kiss for Lolo,” Lolo is impatient for the Star Awards at school that afternoon: “During music, Lolo couldn’t wait for the last line of a new song to end. Waiting for Star Awards was painful.” This feeling of eagerness for one’s favorite part of the day will be familiar to young readers. The events in Lolo’s world revolve around school, home, and her community—like most children in early elementary school. Children will find a sense of security in the love that Lolo receives from Gogo, her mother, and the people who live in their community. Volume 2, Hooray for Lolo, publishes simultaneously. It includes a chapter in which Lolo is treated for appendicitis. After being sick for so long, it takes a while for Lolo to reclaim her winning smile, but she manages, and all is well. These two books offer eight easy-to-read chapters between them, almost every page decorated in grayscale with Daly’s trademark loose, humorous cartoons.

Young readers will find much to enjoy in this tale of a winning little girl and her family—hooray indeed!