Thank You, Shirley Hughes
Shirley Hughes died recently, leaving a great deal of love. Her books have been there for three generations, starting with illustrations for other people’s books and then, drawing on her experiences as a mother in London, creating her own picture books.
The Alfie series, two of which I have focused on here and first published in the 80s, are typical of her books.
In Alfie Gets in First she realised that she could use the gutter between pages to her advantage and cleverly allowed it to become the door with Alfie locked in on one side and everyone else locked out on the other.
She moves us through Alfie’s responses from triumph, to bewilderment and tears, to resolve and, oh so satisfying to a four-year-old, triumph again as he opens the door ahead of a streetful of grown-ups. What does it matter that you might have to explain a milkman to a child today, or indeed that those comfortable somewhat rundown Victorian terraces now command a fortune? Life is life, and Shirley Hughes knew that getting through the front door first or acquiring a pair of wellies for puddle-splashing is a big deal to a four-year-old. Just as in the drawing above she creates a believable space in which adventures happen, so in her own books she creates and holds a space of warmth and generosity that adult and child can share and feel accepting of each other. She communicates, in the fun and messiness of real life, that all is well.
Buy Alfie Gets in First through Bookshop.org
Buy Alfie’s Feet through Bookshop.org
