You're a Star, Lolo

by Niki Daly

Review posted March 23, 2026.
Catalyst Press, 2020. First published in Great Britain in 2020.
Review written October 29, 2021, from a library book. 86 pages.
Starred Review

I love Lolo! These beginning chapter books written and illustrated by Niki Daly feature a young elementary-school-age girl who lives in Capetown, South Africa, with her mother and grandmother. The grandmother is called Gogo, which I think is delightful.

There are four self-contained stories in this book:

In "Lolo's Special Soup," Lolo makes soup for Mama, who's out and about on a blustery day. Gogo is taking a little too much control of the process for Lolo, so she makes her own contribution.

In "Lolo's Scary Night," there's a big fearsome sound interrupting Lolo's sleep. Mama has a nice interpretation before they find out the actual source.

In "Lolo's Snail Garden," Lolo carefully follows instructions for a class gardening project, getting tomato seedlings started -- but she has unusual results.

And in "Lolo's Holiday," Lolo and Gogo have a lovely vacation together in a nearby town, but then have an adventure getting home.

As other good beginning chapter books, I love the way these books are child-centric with concerns that mirror those of the target age group. There's some extra fun that Lolo lives in South Africa, so it's nice to see what's the same and what's different in everyday life.