The book begins with a small girl in West Kirby who is obsessed with comics: "The Daily Sketch", "The Daily Express" and "The Mirror" - each of these newspapers helped to shape Shirley Hughes' career. Her story takes us from this gentle start, through World War II, and to a career which began with Art School in a blitzed Liverpool, led to Oxford and then to London. Shirley reflects on art and describes her own creative process as "the nearest thing I know to flying into the sun". The book is illustrated with sketches from her Italian sketchbooks, doodles from boring meetings, roughs from her picture books and perfectly executed paintings done just for the fun of it.

About the Author

Shirley Hughes was born and grew up in West Kirby, near Liverpool. She studied at Liverpool Art School and at the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford, before embarking on a career as a freelance illustrator. At first she worked as an interpretive illustrator, but she began to write and design her own picture books when her children were very young. Her first book, Lucy and Tom's Day, was published in 1960. Now living in London's Notting Hill, Shirley Hughes has illustrated over two hundred children's books and is renowned as a champion of children's literature. Farjeon Award, and in 1999 she was honoured with an OBE for her distinguished services to children's literature.

Prizes

Shirley Hughes' first book, "Lucy and Tom's Day" was published in 1960 and since then she has written many others. Her work has won the Farjeon Award, and in 1999 she was honoured with an OBE for her services to children's literature.