The bookseller – News – Shirley Hughes, author and illustrator, dies at the age of 94

Shirley Hughes has died after a short illness at the age of 94.

The highly respected children’s author and illustrator died on February 25, her family announced.

She was best known for her much-loved picture books about a boy called Alfie and his little sister Annie Rose, and for her storyDogger (Penguin Random House) about a lost toy. She has illustrated over 200 children’s books, published by Walker Books, Penguin Random House and Egmont, with her lifetime sales estimated by her family at over 11.3 million copies.

A two-time winner of the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal, she won the inaugural BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and in 2017 was named a CBE for her services to children’s literature. She received the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance Children’s Book Award in 2014 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2000.

Hughes was born on July 16, 1927 in West Kirby. She studied Drawing and Costume Design at Liverpool School of Art and Fine Art at Ruskin School of Art, Oxford. Her early work included illustrating the My Naughty Little Sister series by Dorothy Edwards and the Bell Family books by Noel Streatfeild.

His first picture book,Lucy and Tom’s Party (David & Charles), was published in 1960. She also wrote books for older children such asThe Lion and the Unicorn (Penguin Random House) and war fiction including his first novel,hero on bike (Walker).

“She was a champion of libraries throughout her life; celebrating them as a quiet space away from home for homework, as well as a source of books for all ages,” his family said in a statement. “Shirley’s books on everyday family life are adored by generations of families and she is held in the highest regard by her peers.”