Alfie Gives a Hand

Story

Alfie is nervous about going to Bernard’s birthday party on his own, so he takes his special blanket. When Bernard is boisterous and upsets Min, Alfie overcomes his shyness to offer a reassuring hand. Soon he is having a great time and has made a new friend. He doesn’t even need his blanket.

Why we chose it

Described by Philip Pullman as ‘a national treasure’, Shirley Hughes has a rare talent for observing the world in ways that young children recognise. She combines gentle humour with delightful ink and watercolour illustrations to explore familiar situations from everyday family life. Many of her picture books have won awards and become much-loved classics. Hughes appeared as Lady Bracknell in the Story Museum’s 26 Characters exhibition in 2014.

Where it came from

At art school in Oxford Shirley Hughes started painting in the picture book format, developing a life-long interest in telling stories through pictures. She soon established a freelance career illustrating books for Noel Streatfield, Alison Uttley, Dorothy Edwards and many others. When her children were small Hughes began to write and draw her own picture books, starting with Lucy and Tom’s Day in 1960. Since then she has illustrated more than 200 books for other authors and written over 80 of her own, including the Alfie stories, the Olly & Me series and the much-loved Dogger. Now in her 90s she continues to sketch and write, completing her first novel, Hero on a Bicycle, in 2015.

Associated stories

Alfie and his family and friends appear in over a dozen stories and assorted poems, available in collections such as Alfie: The Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook and Alfie: The Big Alfie Out of Doors Storybook.