Lulu in La La Land Book Signing

This past weekend, Elisabeth Wolf held a book reading & signing for her book Lulu in La La Land. I had heard about the book & thought it would be a perfect activity for me & my daughter to attend. On a warm afternoon, we headed out to the Barnes & Noble book store at the Americana in Glendale.

Lulu in La La Land is an adorable story about a young girl who lives in Bel Air & doesn’t feel like she fits in. The book is set-up like a screenplay, which is fitting since Lulu’s parents are in the entertainment industry. Lulu’s mother is a director & her father is an actor. From the outside, Lulu’s life looks wonderful & very glamorous. However in reality, Lulu is a “Not Fitter Inner.”

The idea of being a “Not Fitter Inner” is very important to the author. Much like Lulu, Elisabeth Wolf grew up in sunny Los Angeles – Beverly Hills to be exact. During the book reading, the author shared a personal story of how she would ride her bike around the neighborhood. However, she never saw other young kids her age playing in their front yards. When she finally asked a girl in her school, her response was “I’d rather wear pretty dresses & you can’t ride a bike with a pretty dress.” Elisabeth wrote this book because she wanted kids to know the importance of being yourself & that it’s ok if you do not fit in.

One of the things that I loved about this particular book reading is that the author invited several young girls to join her on stage to read excerpts of the book. Elisabeth was very engaging with the audience, asking the kids questions throughout the reading. She even raffled off a Drybar (hair blow-out salon) gift card to the person in the audience who had the best answer to the question “What place in LA would you take an out-of-town friend to visit?”

Some of the ways that the author is similar to the character Lulu in the book include: her love of cooking, baking & gardening. Elisabeth is so enthusiastic about gardening that she brought in tomatoes from her own garden to share with the audience!

At the end of the reading, my daughter & I stood in line to get our copy of the Lulu in La La Land book autographed (which we had purchased that morning). I even got to take a picture with the author, Elisabeth Wolf!

I love the message of the book – that it is important to be true & authentic to yourself. It’s a fun book for all ages, even adults! I’d have to say that based on the audience at the bookstore & also the subject matter, this book might be best for tweens. I’m reading the book with my 7 year old daughter partly because some of the words might be challenging for her, but also so that we can discuss some of the themes of the book.

If you’d like learn more about Lulu in La La Land, please click here for additional information.