“I have this little sister, Lola. She is small and very funny,” reports young narrator Charlie—and not for the first time. (Fans of this series—book and TV—will know that this is Charlie’s regular opener.) Although it’s only September, Lola is eagerly awaiting Christmas. Charlie tries to instill patience in Lola, but there’s no putting her off her mission: She writes her Christmas cards in October and decorates the house in November. The siblings (pale-skinned with, as ever, chicly floppy blond wisps of hair) have a rapport right out of a classic-comedy script, with Charlie as straight man to adorably prone-to-misunderstandings Lola. (Charlie on Advent-calendar doors: “If you don’t open them ALL, Christmas can’t come.” Lola: “So if I open all of the doors…AT ONCE, will Christmas come then?”) Readers will likely share Charlie’s bemusement with his sister’s shtick and idiosyncratic reasoning (typical Lola logic: “Double 5 is 55”), which is key, as the story doesn’t have much of an arc. As always, Child’s unmistakable and innovative mixed-media art finds the book’s paper doll–esque human figures alongside paper- and photo-collage elements, cartoonishly simple renderings of objects, and a font that slants, arches, and loops, making it another essential graphic feature.
