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Shirley Hughes

91 replies

viques · 02/03/2022 12:18

I always got a bit teary when I read Dogger, so forgive me if I am having a bit of a sniffle now. Rest in Peace Shirley, thank you for writing such comforting re readable stories.

OP posts:
merrymouse · 02/03/2022 20:20

Is Peepo by her as well?

That is Janet and Allan Ahlberg - another book that has stood the test of time.

I have kept all the Shirley Hughes Alfie and Annie Rose books for me - they are masterpieces.

I wish more credit was given to her beautiful portraits of mundane domestic life. I agree she should have been made a Dame.

MrsSkylerWhite · 02/03/2022 20:21

Our youngest, 19, was given a book of her poems on his first birthday. Moving out last September, one of the things he wanted to keep Smile

JaneJeffer · 02/03/2022 20:21

I hadn't heard this. RIP Shirley. I absolutely love her illustrations.

NeedToKnow101 · 02/03/2022 20:22

I loved her books. Like others, I used to cry every time I read Dogger to my son. He was a little bemused.

FourChimneys · 02/03/2022 20:25

I was once in Oxford and saw a poster for a Shirley Hughes exhibition, I think at the Ashmolean Museum. I went in and there was the actual Dogger. I stood there with an even bigger lump in my throat than when I read the book to my DC.

Such lovely books, full of warmth and comfort.

woodhill · 02/03/2022 20:31

@merrymouse

Is Peepo by her as well?

That is Janet and Allan Ahlberg - another book that has stood the test of time.

I have kept all the Shirley Hughes Alfie and Annie Rose books for me - they are masterpieces.

I wish more credit was given to her beautiful portraits of mundane domestic life. I agree she should have been made a Dame.

Thanks

Yes another lovely book

woodhill · 02/03/2022 20:33

I was reading "Paper Dolls" to dgd recently - not sure who wrote it and became tearful

MotherOfCrocodiles · 02/03/2022 20:34

I did not know she was still alive but now very sad she has died. Ditto jan pienkowski last week. Both remembered from my own childhood and enjoyed with my kids.

RockStarMartini · 02/03/2022 20:37

I adore her books and drawings - funnily enough the Ahlbergs mentioned up thread have a similar feel where the illustrations tell a story alongside the words.

DorotheaFrazil · 02/03/2022 20:37

I was so sad to hear this news. The Alfie and Annie Rose stories are such an intrinsic part of my daughters' childhoods. They were the books that became part of our family vocabulary: Bonting, Dernard, Maureen McNally, Annie Rose's tantrums. We particularly liked the story where Alfie had to be a page boy and Dad wrapped a sheet around himself to pretend to be the bride so Alfie could practice. 💕

Fortyminutes · 02/03/2022 20:38

@woodhill

I was reading "Paper Dolls" to dgd recently - not sure who wrote it and became tearful
That’s Jacqueline Wilson. Made me sob the first time I read it.
Fortyminutes · 02/03/2022 20:38

I don’t mean Jacqueline Wilson-I mean Julia Donaldson!

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 02/03/2022 20:38

Oh, I hadn't heard about Jan Pieńkowski. My mum used to read his books to her Reception class in the 1970s and 1980s. Sad

katienana · 02/03/2022 20:42

Her books really capture how things that seem so small are so important to a child. The sense of wonder and magic. I love the story where Alfie goes with his mum and his mums friend to a cottage and an owl gets in! And Alfies feet, that was a favourite of my eldest. I also love Lucy and Toms Christmas where Tom gets grumpy in the afternoon. It feels so true.

woodhill · 02/03/2022 20:42

@Fortyminutes

I don’t mean Jacqueline Wilson-I mean Julia Donaldson!
Yes

Another excellent writer - Gruffalo

GeordieRacer · 02/03/2022 20:47

Then Bella did something very kind.

Makes me teary every time

RIP Shirley Hughes

AwfulTed · 02/03/2022 20:52

Sad to hear this today, such a wonderful writer and illustrator… Dogger gets me every time but my favourite has to be Lucy and Tom’s Christmas. So evocative and my voice goes all wavery every time I get to the picture of Tom going for a walk with his grandad. Shirley Hughes has given so much pleasure to so many of us, she was great!

CatrinVennastin · 02/03/2022 20:52

@GeordieRacer I have never been able to read that line without getting weepy! As soon as DD1 could read she took over that line!

RIP Shirley. Her books just capture so much joy and warmth of family life.

The Christmas Ghost is one of favourites and nothing can top Lucy & Tom’s Christmas for me.

weebarra · 02/03/2022 20:57

So very sad. I have a copy of Alfie's Feet which my late sister wrote her name in. DD and I recite 'Bathwater's Hot' together, we both know it off by heart.
A PP mentioned Up and Up which I also love. RIP Shirley.

Waitwhat23 · 02/03/2022 20:57

@woodhill

I was reading "Paper Dolls" to dgd recently - not sure who wrote it and became tearful
I was reading it for the first time, to a group of children at story time and had to stop for a couple of moments to compose myself because I was going to cry! The illustration of the woods with all the objects imbued with memories set me off again when I looked at it properly
Waitwhat23 · 02/03/2022 21:01

@RockStarMartini

I adore her books and drawings - funnily enough the Ahlbergs mentioned up thread have a similar feel where the illustrations tell a story alongside the words.
I always find it interesting that Peepo is clearly set during WW2 - the Dad is in uniform at one point, there's a framed picture of Winston Churchill and there's Union Jacks in several of the pages.

It's so evocative too - fringe on grandma's shawl, the sun in the window, legs shiny wet, fast asleep and dreaming what does he see.

CurryLover56 · 02/03/2022 21:02

Loved “ My Naughty Little Sister” as a child then enjoyed reading the Alfie & Annie Rose books to DD. She loved Dogger & we read it over & over. What a great legacy she left.

Updownup · 02/03/2022 21:07

Ah, such nice memories. I loved Alfie and Annie Rose. My children thought Bernard was hilarious.

Horological · 02/03/2022 21:13

I love the people in her illustrations. They all have cheeky and joyful expressions and they are rounded and scruffy. You can imagine hugging them or sitting on their laps. Compare them to Quentin Blake's characters who are stick like, jagged, and spiky

woodhill · 02/03/2022 21:26

I think it's the bit about the little girl growing up and my own grown up dd was there and she admitted she found the book emotional too