Winifred Shirley Hughes (16 July 1927 – 25 February 2022) was an English author and illustrator. She wrote more than fifty books, which have sold more than 11.5 million copies, and illustrated more than two hundred. As of 2007, she lived in London.
Random House profile
Retrieved 1 January 2007. Hughes won the 1977 and 2003 Kate Greenaway Medals for British children's book illustration. In 2007, her 1977 winner, ''Dogger'', was named the public's favourite winning work of the award's first fifty years. She won the inaugural BookTrust lifetime achievement award in 2015.Emily Drabble
Shirley Hughes: I hope books survive, they are wonderful pieces of technology
The Guardian, 6 July 2015. She was a recipient of the

Eleanor Farjeon Award The Eleanor Farjeon Award is made for distinguished service to the world of British Children's literature, children's books and is given to someone whose commitment and contribution is deemed to be outstanding. Founded in 1966, it is presented annua ...

. She was a patron of the

Association of Illustrators The Association of Illustrators (AOI) is a British trade association for illustration, to advance and protect illustrators' rights. It was established in the United Kingdom in 1973. The AOI promotes and encourages commercial and ethical standards ...

Early life

Hughes was born in

West Kirby West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, to th ...

, then in the county of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

(now in

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

), on 16 July 1927. The daughter of Thomas James Hughes, owner of the Liverpool-based store chain

T. J. Hughes T. J. Hughes, registered and styled as TJ Hughes, is a British discount department store brand which first emerged in Liverpool in 1912 The business grew to become a national chain with 57 stores by 2011 but shrank to just six locations after e ...

and his wife Kathleen (née Dowling), she grew up in West Kirby on the Wirral. She recalled being inspired from childhood by artists like

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

and W. Heath Robinson, and later by the

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

and the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

.Shirley Hughes at Walker Books
. Retrieved 1 January 2007. Particular favourites of hers were Edward Ardizzone, and EH Shepard who illustrated ''Wind in the Willows'' and ''Winnie-the-Pooh.'' She enjoyed frequent visits to the theatre with her mother, which gave her a love for observing people and a desire to create. She was educated at West Kirby Grammar School, but Hughes said she was not a particularly good student academically, and when she was 17, she left school to study

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

and

costume design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

at the

Liverpool School of Art The John Lennon Art and Design Building (formerly the Art and Design Academy) in Liverpool, England, houses Liverpool John Moores University's School of Art and Design. The school was formerly located at the Grade II listed Liverpool College of ...

. In Liverpool she found that societal pressure was put on her to find a husband and then not achieve much with her life. She longed to escape from these claustrophobic expectations, so moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in order to attend the

Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art The Ruskin School of Art, known as the Ruskin, is an art school at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later became ...

. After art school she moved to

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, London.Shirley Hughes – Alfie, Dogger and Friends
. Retrieved 1 January 2007. In 1952, she married John Sebastian Papendiek Vulliamy, an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

. They had three children together: the journalist

Ed Vulliamy Edward Sebastian Vulliamy (born 1 August 1954) is a British journalist and writer. Early life and education Vulliamy was born and raised in Notting Hill, London. His mother was the children's author and illustrator Shirley Hughes, his father ...

, the geneticist Tom Vulliamy, and Clara Vulliamy, who is also a children's book illustrator.Booklist of Works by Childrens Book Illustrators
. Retrieved 1 January 2007.

Career

In Oxford, Hughes was encouraged to work in the

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

format and make

lithographic Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

illustrations. However, after graduating she attempted to pursue her ambitions of becoming a theatre designer, and took a job at the Birmingham Rep Theatre. She quickly decided that the "enclosed hothouse" of the theatre world wasn't for her, so followed her former tutor's advice and started working as an illustrator. She began by illustrating the books of other authors, including ''My Naughty Little Sister'' by Dorothy Edwards and ''The Bell Family'' by

Noel Streatfeild Mary Noel Streatfeild OBE (24 December 1895 –11 September 1986) was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series (though some books made references to others). Random House, the ...

. The first published book she both wrote and illustrated was ''Lucy & Tom's Day'', which was made into a series of stories. She went on to write over fifty more stories, including '' Dogger'' (1977), the ''Alfie'' series (1977), featuring a young boy named Alfie and sometimes his sister Annie-Rose, and the ''Olly and Me'' series (1993). The

in her hometown of Liverpool hosted an exhibition of her work in 2003, which then moved to the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

in Oxford. Her most famous book, ''Dogger'', is about a toy dog who is lost by a small boy, but is then reunited with his owner after being found in a jumble sale. This book was inspired by her son, Ed, who lost his favourite teddy in Holland Park. A real Dogger also existed, and was on display along with the rest of her work at her exhibition in London and Oxford. Hughes illustrated 200 children's books throughout her career, which sold more than 10 million copies. In

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

participating libraries, eight of her ten most widely held works were ''Alfie'' books (1981 to 2002). The others were ''Dogger'' (rank second) and ''Out and About'' (1988). Hughes wrote her first novel in 2015, a young-adult book titled ''Hero on a Bicycle''. She was 84 years of age when she wrote this. Hughes died on 25 February 2022 at her home in London. She was 94, and suffered from a brief illness prior to her death. She was paid tribute to by the UK's largest children's reading charity, the BookTrust, who said they were "devastated" by her death and that her "incredible stories and illustrations, from Dogger to Alfie and Lucy and Tom, have touched so many generations and are still so loved. Thank you, Shirley.”

Michael Morpurgo Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo (''né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as ''War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytellin ...

, author of ''

War Horse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs ...

'', praised her, noting that she "began the reading lives of so many millions."

Awards

'' Dogger'' (1977), which she wrote and illustrated, was the first story by Hughes to be widely published abroad and it was recognised by the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...

Kate Greenaway Medal The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...

as the year's best children's book illustration by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

. In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the companion Carnegie Medal in 2007, it named one of the top ten Greenaway Medal-winning works by an expert panel and then named the public favourite, or "Greenaway of Greenaways". (The public voted on the panel's shortlist of ten, selected from the 53 winning works 1955 to 2005. Hughes and ''Dogger'' polled 26% of the vote to 25% for its successor as medalist,

Janet Ahlberg Janet Ahlberg (21 October 1944 – 15 November 1994; née Hall) and Allan Ahlberg (born 5 June 1938) were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lis ...

and ''Each Peach Pear Plum''.) Hughes won a second Greenaway (no illustrator has won three) for ''Ella's Big Chance'' (2003), her own adaptation of

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

, set in the 1920s. It was published in the U.S. as ''Ella's Big Chance: A Jazz-Age Cinderella'' (Simon & Schuster, 2004). She was also a three-time Greenaway commended runner up: for ''Flutes and Cymbals: Poetry for the Young'' (1968), a collection compiled by Leonard Clark; for ''Helpers'' (Bodley Head, 1975), which she wrote and illustrated; and for ''The Lion and the Unicorn'' (Bodley Head, 1998), which she wrote and illustrated (Highly Commended). In 1984, Hughes won the

for distinguished service to children's literature, in 1999 she was awarded an OBE, and in 2000 she was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

. She was also granted an Honorary Fellowship by Liverpool John Moores University and Honorary Degrees by the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in 2004 and the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancello ...

in 2012. Booktrust, the UK's largest reading charity, awarded Hughes their first lifetime achievement award in 2015. Already

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE), Hughes was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to literature.

Works

* ''Moving Molly'' * ''Bathwater's Hot'' * ''Noisy'' * ''When We Went to the Park'' * ''All Shapes and Sizes'' * ''Colours'' * ''Two Shoes, New Shoes'' * ''Out and About'' * '' Dogger'' * ''Lucy and Tom's Christmas'' * ''Lucy and Tom at the Seaside'' * ''Tales of Trotter Street'' * ''Hero on a Bicycle'' * ''The Christmas Eve Ghost'' * ''The Lion and the Unicorn'' * ''Helpers'' * ''Angel Mae'' * ''Dogger's Christmas''

Alfie stories

* ''Alfie Gets in First'' * ''Alfie Gives a Hand'' * ''Alfie Wins a Prize'' * ''Alfie's Feet'' * ''Alfie's Weather'' * ''An Evening at Alfie's'' * ''The Big Alfie and Annie Rose Story Book'' * ''Rhymes for Annie Rose''

Works by other authors, illustrated by Hughes

* Rust, Doris, ''All Sorts of Days: Six Stories for the Very Young'' (Faber and Faber, 1955) * Corrin, Sara and Stephen, ''Stories for Eight-Year-Olds'' (Faber and Faber, 1974)

Notes

References

External links

* *

Julia Eccleshare Julia Eccleshare MBE (born 1951) is a British journalist and writer on the subject of children's books. She has been Children's Books editor for ''The Guardian'' newspaper for more than ten years, at least from 2000. She is also an editorial con ...

Shirley Hughes obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 2 March 2022 * —immediately, first edition * —immediately, first US edition * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Shirley 1927 births 2022 deaths Alumni of the Ruskin School of Art Commanders of the Order of the British Empire english children's book illustrators English children's writers English illustrators Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Kate Greenaway Medal winners People educated at West Kirby Grammar School People from West Kirby Vulliamy family Writers who illustrated their own writing