REVIEW: Katie Kirby at the Dome
Lottie Brooks. If you don’t know who Lottie Brooks is then chances are you don’t have a little girl aged 9-12 living in your home.
Lottie is to young girls I suppose, what Adrian Mole was to my generation, but without the ruler (IYKYK).
It’s like Bridget Jones, but pared down with the very real anxiety of starting school, welcoming a sibling, dealing with (ultra) mean girls.
It’s silly, emotional, funny and gripping. My daughter has read her copies so often in the bath that they are dog-eared and wrinkled.
So, we were both excited for Katie Kirby.
This was Kirby’s first event in Brighton, despite living here and being a proud, recent owner of a Hove Beach Hut (she showed photos, it’s lovely).
Kirby was joined by fellow author and illustrator Sophy Henn on stage for an entertaining conversation as part of the Young Readers programme.
Kirby began by sharing stories about her own life, revealing how much of Lottie’s personality comes from her own teenage experiences.
As some will know, she gained notoriety for her Hurrah for Gin series, which started as a blog around 12 years ago.
It was her publisher which suggested she broach into writing for children “probably saying I was a bit silly and immature”.
From a love of Kit Kat chunkys, capybaras, Monster Munch and Pot Noodles to awkward school memories and friendship worries, Kirby explained that many of the emotions in the books are drawn from real life.
Certainly, the first book is hitting home for us as a family at the moment, which is when Lottie is nervous about starting big school.
She decides, however, that this is her opportunity to reimagine herself as a better version of herself, by all accounts.
“If you read the first book you’ll know that the kind of key lesson and key take out is that you can’t really change the way you are and the best thing to do is find friends who love and appreciate you for yourself,” Kirby explains.
“It’s all about just muddling through, getting things wrong, trying your best, and working it out,” she says.
Which is true, but with brilliant pictures.
Kirby admitted that she still vividly remembers the emotions of being a teenager and said that, despite changing trends and social media, “the kind of things that you worry about and feel anxious about are all the same.”
I think for me attending with my daughter, clad in a Lottie Brooks T-shirt with the logo ‘Fries Before Guys’ on it, one of the standout moments came when Kirby encouraged young audience members to keep diaries of their own.
Many children in the audience proudly admitted that they had started diary-writing after reading the Lottie Brooks books.
My daughter, who has always kept diaries, told me that Lottie Brooks encouraged her to draw more in hers and write every day.
There was also a quiz, in which Kirby herself was gobsmacked to see how many superfans she had.
And an opportunity to ask questions after the event.
My daughter rushed out of her seat especially to ask “Which of Lottie’s embarrassing incidents can you relate to the most?”
Finally, we were all delighted to hear that the series has been optioned for a potential television adaptation.
Kirby shared her hopes that any future casting would feature “real, everyday kids” to preserve the relatable spirit of the books.
Funny, honest and full of warmth, the event perfectly captured why the Lottie Brooks books continue to resonate so strongly with young readers.
By the end of the session, the excitement for the book signing queue was clear, with the queue snaking all around the Dome’s ornate staircase.
I was, to be frank, very glad that we already had a signed version of the book (thank you Book Nook!)
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