Shirley Hughes, Dies Aged 94

Hello Gentle Reader,
 
The hallmark of a great children’s writer is their ability to treat their subject and their intended reader with maturity and a certain seriousness that defies patronizing or demeaning and belittling attitudes and overcomes them with a sense of grace. This describes Shirley Hughes, who is renowned as an illustrator and children’s writer of picture books from young children, who many young and emerging readers may fondly remember, who in turn may find her books in their own children’s rooms. Shirley Hughes’s illustrations were elegant as they were graceful. Full of realistic detail and life, capturing the full spectrum of emotions and body language children have. This most likely comes from her detailed observations and keen eye for subtle (and at times capricious) changes these young beings could make. Yet her illustrations encapsulated the beauty of the world, the truly spectacular and imaginative world that exists around us and is continually new and intriguing. Her works were realistic and took place within familiar and family related settings, situations, and conflicts which will be reminiscent and understandable and relatable for children, such as losing their favourite toy or locking their parents out of the house. These are the characteristics of Hughes’s work: the reality of life, encapsulated in lithographic beauty. The neighbourhoods are warm and safe, parents are present and involved, the streets are multicultural and diverse. It’s a reflection of the world. A reflection of reality for young children to read over and seek to comprehend further, or perhaps in other situations, bring comfort and dreams of what they yearned for. the fact that Shirley Hughes took childhood and children’s emotions, and experiences seriously is what makes her such a iconic and genuine writer, who is believed, endeared, and enduring, to the point her work has insured her immortality. Her readers do not encounter her work for didactic messages or moralistic certainties, but rather to enjoy the wonders of life in a wholesome manner on the page, as well as marvel at Hughes’s magnificent illustrative talent that is both artistic as it is technical and precise. Shirley Hughes’s character in turn is equal legend, warm, elegant, graceful, compassionate, and overflowing with generous kindness that was extended to all, these traits certainly make their way into her work, the power of love and kindness cannot be overturned or rejected so easily, as they are woven into the world around us, and in turn we are the recipients of it. If there is any message Shirley Hughes were to present to her young and adoring readers, it was that love and kindness are not just ideals, but realities, the true currencies of the human experience and should be exchanged not on a transactional basis, but with the spirit of altruistic generosity. It is sad to think that Shirley Hughes is no longer apart of this world, having passed on February 25^th, but her workbooks and her illustrations will continue, and they will delight and be adored by a new generation of readers to come, and from there new lifelong reading careers begin.
 
Rest in Peace Shirley Hughes, truly a remarkable writer and illustrator.
 
Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
 
M. Mary