Shirley Hughes
The first I heard about books by Shirley Hughes was whilst working at Stella Books. Some years ago, an Irish lady who also worked here got very excited about a new book by Shirley Hughes that had come into stock. She read us extracts from the book and we all admired the beautiful illustrations. She related that she used to read the books to her children when they were young and had never forgotten them. Since that time, Shirley Hughes's stories and illustrations have been a firm favourite here at Stella Books.
Shirley Hughes was born July 16th 1927. She was raised in West Kirby, a sleepy seaside town on the Wirral. Growing up in an era without television, Hughes and her sisters amused themselves listening to the wireless, dressing up and acting out plays, reading and of course drawing. Among the books that influenced her early life were the wonderfully illustrated classics by such artists as Arthur Rackham and W. Heath Robinson.
Hughes studied at the Liverpool Art School and later at the Ruskin School Of Drawing in Oxford. During this time, she adopted the habit of always carrying a sketch book with her, so that she could draw interesting figures, mainly children, from her everyday life.
Hughes began by illustrating other children's authors works, including a book by Noel Streatfeild who was popular at the time. More notably, this led to Hughes being given the chance to illustrate a title in Dorothy Edwards' popular My Naughty Little Sister series. The book proved so popular the author requested that Hughes re-illustrate all the titles already existing in that series.
Hughes thus saw a niche in the children's book market. At the time there were not really many books for young readers that reflected their everyday life; how children feel when they get up, go to the shops, have a meal or meet other people. Her experience of watching other children in the playground, or wherever she found them, and watching her own children in everyday life gave Hughes the material that she needed to write, as well as illustrate, her first book.
Lucy & Tom's Day was published in 1960. The book proved to be so popular, that she wrote many more 'Lucy & Tom' stories, in fact they became a series in their own right. Other Lucy & Tom titles include: Lucy & Tom's 1, 2, 3 and Lucy & Tom's ABC. Each of these books are educational as well as enjoyable for young children (and the older ones of us too!).
Alfie and Annie Rose - another two characters created by Shirley Hughes also proved to be a hit with readers. They displayed her understanding of her young audience, in that youngsters love to read about everyday dramas that affect them. Alfie and Annie Rose have many adventures, such as in The Big Alfie Out of Doors Storybook. Alfie goes camping with Dad (in Grandma's field), they all visit the seaside and they set up shop in their back garden.
In these stories you can sense the feelings of anticipation, excitement and sorrow of Alfie and Annie Rose, as these different scenes play out. You can also imagine children you know yourself in the same situations.
The colour illustrations used by Hughes in her books are full and rich, evoking the feeling that you could actually be in the picture with the characters, sharing in their experiences. Only the simple text that she uses is needed to complete these stories, as the illustrations act as a narrative in themselves.
In a career spanning roughly half a century, Hughes has had nearly fifty of her storybooks published. She has also won prestigious awards for her work, such as The Kate Greenaway medal for Dogger in 1977, in 1984 the Eleanor Farjeon award in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the world of children's books and the Kate Greenaway medal for the second time in 2003 for Ella's Big Chance. In 1999 she was awarded an OBE for distinguished services to children's literature.
Submitted by Joanne Hill
(Published 30th Sep 2013)
