The Big Alfie And Annie Rose Storybook

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Questions embedded within the text are useful for encouraging children to use their imaginations and deduction skills to predict the next part of the story. They are also great discussion simulators and can therefore encourage engagement with the story.

I've been trying to put my finger on why I love Shirley Hughes's Alfie books so much. Why should the everyday tales of a four-year-old boy and his toddler sister Annie Rose so lift my spirits - as well as those of my two young children - at the end of a dog-tiring day? Another standout favourite from my childhood is one of the Alfie and Annie Rose stories: Bonting . Similar to Dogger , Bonting is a special stone that Alfie finds in his garden. Mum makes him a little swimming costume and Bonting joins the family for a trip to the seaside. However, at the end of the day, Alfie realises that Bonting is nowhere to be found. Alfie and Annie Rose are arguably the most recognisable of Hughes’ characters.Shirley began to write and draw her own picture books when her children were young. Her first book - Lucy and Tom's Day - was published in 1960, and she followed it with, among others, Dogger and the Alfie series. With warmth and sturdy common sense, these attractive picture books introduce the verbs ``to give'' and ``to bounce.'' Using everyday household scenes, which feature an energetic girl and her Continue reading » Although it is 30 years since Alfie was first brought to life in Shirley Hughes’ intricately illustrated stories, he has lost none of his appeal and still delights with his unique and charming child’s-eye view of the world which makes the ordinary seem extraordinary. As a child, Hughes’ books were a part of my nighttime reading from as early as I can remember. Dogger was a particular favourite in our household, with myself and my siblings able to relate to the attachment to a much loved soft toy, and understanding Dave’s feelings when Dogger goes missing. The book’s success has been global , with it proving popular despite it being very “English” as far the story and the setting go (a large portion of the book is spent at a jumble sale). But, the universality of losing something dear to you appeals to a worldwide audience, making Dogger Hughes’ most successful book. Christmas is rapidly approaching, almost as fast as Mae Morgan's new sibling is expected on the scene. Mae has a part in the school play as the ``angel Gave-you'' (no one has the heart to correct Continue reading »

Young children are able to find the extraordinary in every day ordinary scenes, like losing a beloved stuffed animal, helping your baby sister eat with her spoon, and going to a friend's birthday party. After more than 50 years of writing and illustrating children’s books, two-time Greenaway Medal–winner Hughes delivers her first novel, a tense and emotional thriller set during the German occupation Continue reading »Words and pictures merge seamlessly in these simply devised books. Shirley Hughes, now 78, wrote and illustrated her first Alfie book in 1981. Twenty years on, Alfie and Annie Rose are still respectively four and one-and-a-half years old but show no sign at all of dating. Shirley began to write and draw her own picture books when her children were young. Her first book - Lucy and Tom's Day - was published in 1960, and she followed it with, among others, Dogger, and the Alfie series. Her books include the wordless picture book Up and Up, collection of rhymes and poems Out and About, and for the very young The Nursery Collection. Alfie and Bernard are very best friends and together they have lots of adventures. Join them as they go to the library, take part in scooter races and make a very special club with only two special members! A heart-warming tale of friendship by the a...

Good buddies Chips and Jessie star in these five stories, and as in Hughes's Alfie stories, the friends and their neighbors are true to life. ""The By-gone Fox'' is actually a fox scarf, accidentally Continue reading »Shirley was born in West Kirby, near Liverpool, and studied fashion and dress design at Liverpool Art School, before continuing her studies at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford. She then embarked on a career as a freelance illustrator in London, where she still lives today. She illustrated other writers' work, including Noel Streatfeild, Alison Uttley, Ian Seraillier, Margaret Mahy and notably Dorothy Edwards's My Naughty Little Sister series.