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Shirley Barber

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Shirley Barber
Born(1935-06-23)23 June 1935
Guernsey, Channel Isles
Died12 December 2023(2023-12-12) (aged 88)
Watsonia, Victoria, Australia
NationalityBritish
Australian
Occupation(s)Children's author, illustrator
SpouseKeith Barber
Children2
FatherBen Machon

Shirley Barber (23 June 1935 – 12 December 2023) was a British children's author and illustrator.

Born on 23 June 1935, Shirley spent her early childhood in Guernsey (Channel Islands).[1] She had formal art school training at Sanderson's Furnishings, a textile and wallpaper studio in London.[2]

Barber was a long time resident in Australia having emigrated there in 1965 and worked for a time for Oxford University Press in Melbourne, Victoria. She lived in Watsonia, a suburb of Melbourne, with her son and his family and was married twice. Her second husband Keith Barber died in 2000.[2]

Barber wrote many picture books and fairy-themed colouring books, calendars and diaries, which have sold over 10 million copies as of 2008.[2] Most of Barber's books featured fairies and animals. Her books were mainly set in picturesque woods. Her books were published in 18 languages.[2]

Barber died at her home in Watsonia on 12 December 2023, at the age of 88.[3]

Career

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Shirley Barber is a third-generation artist and learnt designing at Sanderson textile and wallpaper studios in London, and was awarded an "art in industry" bursary at the age of 18. During her time there, she mainly did "floral and berry nature work", which reflects her own illustrations in her books later on in life.

She later left the United Kingdom to Australia in 1965[4] with her family, taking on the role as an illustrator for Oxford University Press in Melbourne. Throughout her time there, she also made fairy pictures that she sold at craft markets.

Barber was 55 when she took her second rendition of "Martha B. Rabbit" to Penguin and instead was recommended to try the publisher Five Mile Press.[5] Barber's first book "Martha B. Rabbit: the Fairies' Cook" was published by Memory Press (an imprint of Five Mile Press) in the 1980's, Barber's family still own the original first draft.[6] Her first book received a special mention in the international Bologna Children's Book Fair picture book awards.

In 2012, she resumed her relationship with the publisher Brolly Brooks, as she first worked for them during her time at Five Mile Press. Her books have been published with them ever since, with Brolly Brooks announcing a statement to confirm the author's death at age 88 in 2023.[7][8]

Works

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Book Title Date Published Publisher
Martha B Rabbit: The Fairies Cook 1988 Memory Press
Rainbow Magic 1989 Five Mile Press
Teddy's Midwinter Birthday Party 1990 Five Mile Press
The Pixies' Kettle House 1990 Five Mile Press
Teddy's Forest Friends 1990
Kite Trouble 1990 Five Mile Press
Those Wicked Rats Again 1991 Five Mile Press
Daphne the Forgetful Duck 1991 Five Mile Press
Martha B Rabbit and the Unexpected Guests 1993 Five Mile Press
The Enchanted Woods 1993 Five Mile Press
Shirley Barber's Fairy Book: An Anthology of Verse 1995 Five Mile Press
The Tooth Fairy 1995 Five Mile Press
The Mermaid Princess 1995 Five Mile Press
Tiger Tom and the Stolen Sapphires 1996 Five Mile Press
Shirley Barber's Fairy Books: Four Beautiful Board Books 1996 Five Mile Press
The Fairies' Party 1996 Five Mile Press
A Book Verse 1996 Five Mile Press
Martha B Rabbit and Friends 1996
A Visit to Fairyland 1997 Five Mile Press
Shirley Barber's Bedtime Stories 1997 Five Mile Press
Shirley Barber's Count With Me 1998 Five Mile Press
The Seventh Unicorn 1998 Brolly Brooks
Shirley Barber's Fairy Classics Library 2011 Five Mile Press
Shirley Barber's Spellbound 2016 Brolly Brooks
Those Wicked Rats! 2016 Brolly Brooks
A Royal Adventure 2017 Brolly Brooks
A Fairyland Treasury 2019 Borghesi & Adam Publishers
All the jewels of Fairyland 2024 Brolly Brooks

References

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  1. ^ "Shirley Barber". goodreads.com. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Katherine Kizilos, "Our fairy Grandmother", The Age, 18 August 2008, p. 13
  3. ^ "PRESS RELEASE: Shirley Barber, much-loved children's author, dies aged 88". Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  4. ^ "A Visit to Fairyland: Shirley Barber and the romanticisation of the English countryside - Honi Soit". 9 May 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  5. ^ Kizilos, Katherine (18 August 2008). "Our fairy Grandmother". The Age. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  6. ^ Zuvela, Teneal (12 December 2023). "Shirley Barber, Children's Author, Has Died Aged 88". marie claire. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  7. ^ "PRESS RELEASE: Shirley Barber, much-loved children's author, dies aged 88". Media Database. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  8. ^ Mem: 10693272. "Vale Shirley Barber | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 13 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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