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| Rock solid childhood friends Photo: Jordy Theiller |
The
Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook
ambushed me the other day. It was sitting in the window of a charity shop while
I was on my way somewhere. Sentimentality can get you when you’re least
expecting it, especially where the children’s author Shirley Hughes is
concerned. One minute you’re thinking about what you need from the chemist, and
the next about how long it was since you’ve read to your kids, and why the
little pests have to grow
up so quickly. But they’re off to chat to their mates online and don’t care
that you are left clasping a book with a hopeful expression. It helps – a bit –
to know that you’re far from the first to go down this road. Literature and
modern culture abound with examples. From Peter Pan to Toy Story, it’s clear
that leaving behind childish things can be painful; sometimes for the one
growing up, but more often for those around them. Is it possible to watch Jessie the cowgirl being thrown
out by her owner, without reaching for the tissues?
A recent exhibition
of Shirley Hughes’ art suggests that she is predominantly viewed as an
illustrator. She has twice won the
prestigious Greenaway Medal for illustration and, a few years ago, was asked by
Sarah Brown to design the Downing
Street Christmas card. I’m not sure that her artwork, beautiful though it is, completely accounts for my
little crisis en route to the chemist, though. Perhaps a more plausible reason
is that, while Hughes’ images are memorable, it’s as a writer that she stays
with me; as someone who supremely conjures up a world of childhood joys, fears
and transitions.
