Dogger

This is Hughes’ most heartwarming picture book … Hughes has a kindly, inexhaustible eye - she misses nothing … Her drawing is invariably superb and usually describes a reassuring world for chidlren - sometimes happier-than-thou. She has illustrated more than 200 titles - she is a virtuoso * Observer *
Shirley Hughes is a national treasure
Delightful * Financial Times *
A heart-warming story … Shirley Hughes’ warm and deceptively simple story is a perennial favourite among children and experts alike * Psychologies Magazine *
There are certain books that should be in every family’s library and Dogger is certainly one of them * Books for Children *

Shirley Hughes illustrated over 200 children’s books and is one of the most cherished writers for young readers. She is renowned for her classic works, including the Alfie and Annie Rose series, and Dogger.

Born in West Kirby, near Liverpool, in 1927, Hughes studied fashion and dress design at Liverpool Art School before continuing her education at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford. She began her career as a freelance illustrator in London, working on books by authors such as Noel Streatfeild, Alison Uttley, Ian Serraillier, and most notably, Dorothy Edwards’s My Naughty Little Sister series.

Hughes started writing and illustrating her own picture books when her children were young. Her first book, Lucy and Tom’s Day, was published in 1960, followed by titles like Dogger and the Alfie series. Her other works include the wordless picture book Up and Up, the collection of rhymes and poems Out and About, and The Nursery Collection for very young children.

She also penned two novels for older children: Hero on a Bicycle, set in occupied Florence during World War II, and Whistling in the Dark, which takes place during the Liverpool Blitz. Her memoir, A Life Drawing, was published in 2002.

Hughes collaborated with her daughter, Clara Vulliamy, on the Dixie O’Day series, where Hughes wrote the text and Vulliamy created the illustrations. In 2020, she revisited her beloved character, Dogger, with a new story, Dogger’s Christmas.

Her accolades include the Other Award, the Eleanor Farjeon Award, and the Kate Greenaway Medal for Illustration, which she won twice: for Dogger in 1977 and for Ella’s Big Chance in 2003. In 2007, Dogger was voted the public’s favorite Kate Greenaway Medal winner of all time. She received a High Commendation for the Kate Greenaway Medal for The Lion and the Unicorn in 1998. Hughes was awarded an OBE in 1999 for her services to Children’s Literature and a CBE in 2017. She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the inaugural recipient of BookTrust’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shirley Hughes passed away in London in 2022.

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