An Evening At Alfies - Shirley Hughes

I decided to write another children’s book review. This is by one of my favourite children’s authors, Shirley Hughes. This book is called “An evening at Alfie’s”, but before I go into detail about it I will tell you about the author first. ~~ Shirley Hughes ~~ Shirley Hughes trained at Liverpool Arts School and Ruskin Arts School in Oxford. She began writing children’s stories when she had her own children. Her first book was published in 1960 and was called “Lucy & Tom’s Day”. Since then she has wrote over 200 books. My favourite books by this author have to be about Alfie & Annie Rose. These ...  Read the complete review

***Background*** The first time I was made aware of Shirley Hughes was when my teenage girls were small and her name was on the cover of one of their favourite books as the illustrator. That book was My Naughty Little Sister and I've lost count of the number of times that I had to read it at bedtime. The story was delightful but what my children loved the most were the illustrations. Since then she has written as well as illustrated many books including the Lucy & Tom series, which are just as popular as the set of Alfie books available. ***The Story*** Alfie's mum and dad are going out for the evening and their neighbour ...  Read the complete review

An Evening at Alfies is another story in the well loved Alfie series written and illustrated by Shirley Hughes. These stories all feature the preschool Alfie and his little sister Annie Rose, and tell gentle stories of family life. The Alfie stories were originally written in the early 1980s, but they have stood the test of time well and still captivate young children. In An Evening at Alfies, mum and dad head out for the night, leaving Alfie and Annie Rose at home with the babysitter, Maureen. Annie Rose is soon fast asleep whilst Alfie enjoys a story with Maureen before heading to bed himself. As Alfie lies in bed however, he hears a strange noise on the ...  Read the complete review

This book tells the story of Alfie, a delightful 4 year old, and what happens one evening while his parents are out. The story is simple and yet involves babysitters, neighbours, Noah's Ark and burst pipes. Alfie has a little sister Annie Rose who also has a part to play. It is about everyday occurrences but is told with such charm and realism that any child cannot fail to be drawn into Alfie's world. Shirley Hughes write and paints pictures of the relationships between brother and sister and parents and neighbours with ease. The illustrations are realistic and endearing and beautifully complement the story. The book was first published in 1984 and yet the ...  Read the complete review