Posy Simmonds has been much in the comics news of late with the reviews of her book Tamara Drew and has almost become an overnight superstar after some 30 or more years of cartooning.  She still seems best known for her more recent adult work and her children's books seem almost unknown.  This is a shame because her kid's books are probably her most accessible work.

The Chocolate Wedding is one of two books featuring a little girl, Lulu, and her baby brother Willy and their visit to a family wedding.  The art is very much in Simmonds regular style but beautifully coloured, in earth tones for the real life sequences and in candy colours for a sweet based dream sequence.  The two kids are realistically written and the sequence where they get underfoot of the adults getting ready for the reception will resonate with any parent of young children.  The story itself is very Disney like in a lot of ways, with a dark opening sequence where the kids get pushed off into a corner.  Next is a colourful dream sequence that would work well as a musical scene, followed by a fantasy sequence where Lulu goes off to rescue the bride from the top of the cake, the bride having been thrown away by Lulu's little brother.  This fantasy sequence features talking mice and chocolate soldiers and cats and the groom from the cake.  It reads somewhere between Lewis Carrol and Walt Disney and stays strangely English.  The ending is a lighter moment when the rescue is made to appear as a dream, yet Lulu's faith means she is able to find the miniature bride because of the dream.

Simmonds work reflects the nature of a child's world beautifully, from school days to dealing with adults and the simplicity with which Lulu and Willy are drawn makes them easier to identify with because they're almost iconic in style.

Simmonds' kids books are a treat and well worth seeking out.