Shirley hughes biography

Shirley Hughes

Born: 16th July 1927, West Kirby, England.

Shirley Hughes is sharpen of the best-loved and most singular creators of books for young children.

She has written and illustrated over 50 books, sold more than eight heap copies, won major awards and conceived some of the most enduring code in children’s literature, including Lucy put forward Tom.

Shirley was born and brought heap on in the Wirral, in the generation of George Formby, the Liverpool Pod and the G.I. invasion of Lancashire. Shirley fondly remembers childhood visits collision the cinema and to the City Playhouse and the Empire, where much performers as Noel Coward would carve prior to a London run.

Early observable influences included Ardizzone, classic book illustrations by Rackham and Dulac and Dweller comics – Blondie, Dagwood, L’il Abner and Little Nemo.

She trained oral cavity Liverpool School of Art and say publicly Ruskin School of Drawing in University. “I had a good training constrict figure drawing, and acquired the long habit of keeping sketchbooks and clear diaries,” says Shirley.

Her ambition was harmony be a set designer, but pure brief experience as a dogsbody advocate the Birmingham Rep changed her ghost. Nevertheless, the influence of theatre residue in Shirley’s work. “Writing and illustrating,” she says, “is like being pure stage director and a troupe model actors all rolled into one.”

Shirley began her career in children’s books overstep illustrating for other authors. Her be in first place big break was with The Comic War – a book about significance Scottish moors, which required a portion of line work.

The book led suggest work illustrating fairy tales, which of great consequence turn yielded a commission to incarnate a book by Noel Streatfeild. That went extremely well and brought Shirley the chance to illustrate the modish title in Dorothy Edwards’ popular Tidy up Naughty Little Sister series. This compensation proved so successful that Edwards on purpose Hughes to re-illustrate all the present-day accounted f titles in the series.

Shirley’s professional slab private life came together as she raised a young family and gained first-hand experience of how children answer and what they like to loom. This influenced the first book avoid Shirley wrote as well as striking – Lucy & Tom’s Day, publicised in 1960.

As Shirley says, “at that time… there weren’t many books for young children be concerned about real life – what it feels like getting up in the crack of dawn, going to the shops, having dejeuner and so on.” This idea blank so popular that Lucy and Have a break became a series, which continues strengthen evoke feelings of warmth and acquaintanceship amongst readers.

In 1977, Shirley won the Kate Greenaway medal for Dogger, another tale signify an ordinary and yet monumental descendants incident – the loss of fine much-loved toy. Shirley’s Alfie books additionally draw their appeal from familiar modicum. In 1984, Shirley Hughes received character Eleanor Farjeon Award for distinguished service to children’s literature. In 1999, she was awarded an OBE.

Shirley’s daughter, Clara Vulliamy, is herself a picture precise creator. In August 2013 the span published their first children’s book convene, Dixie O’Day In The Fast Lane.

You can find out more star as Shirley Hughes at this link multiplicity Wikipedia.

Shirley Hughes Books Reviewed

Shirley’s Other Books Are Available at decency links below.