Lauren Child, award-winning author of the best-selling Charlie and Lola books, has been named as the new children’s laureate, saying that she wants children to have the "freedom to dream” without being judged.

Ms Child will be the tenth Waterstones Children’s Laureate, and takes over the post from illustrator Chris Riddell.

She wants to use the position to inspire children to be creative, saying that she hopes to spark "random acts of imagination" among pupils. She also plans to build links between the worlds of literature and other arts, including television, during her two-year term.

“In an increasingly fast-paced world, children need the freedom to dream and imagine; to enjoy reading, drawing and telling their own stories without value judgement or restraint,” she said.

 “My books have taken inspiration from many different art forms – from the illustrations of E.H. Shepard through Scandinavian design, dolls' houses and miniatures as well as the films of Woody Allen and Alfred Hitchcock.

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