TEN QUESTIONS WITH…
The much-loved children’s author on the backstory behind the new seasonal sequel to her award-winning classic, Dogger
celebrated children’s author Shirley Hughes
1 It’s been more than four decades since we first read about the missing toy and the heartbroken boy. Do they live in the same wonderfully nostalgic world?
I hope the world Dogger inhabits is not too nostalgic. I like to think he moves with the times! This book is about Christmas traditions, family and kindness, whether to neighbours or a sibling. So Dad stays at home, keeping an eye on the dinner and basting the turkey, while Mum takes the children to see an elderly neighbour who’s all on his own.
2 Were your own family Christmases very homespun? Some of my childhood Christmases were during the Second World War, when everything was scarce. Rationing was a fair system, but sweets were a luxury. We grew up with good teeth, but this seemed like a poor consolation at the time! When my own children were young, I sometimes gave them homemade presents. I seem to remember sitting up terribly late one Christmas Eve trying to finish a fairy costume for my four-yearold daughter. I think she might secretly have preferred a shopbought dress. On Christmas Day itself, we usually invited an elderly lady called Mrs Shepard round. Being deaf, she didn’t mind the noise our three children made!
3 What is the best present you’ve ever received?
A koala bear called Oscar. Unfortunately – I can’t think why – I threw him out of the car window when I was four or five on an impulse during a journey to Wales. I was so appalled with what I had done that I said nothing for a long time, but a few miles down the road, I admitted what had happened. We went back and searched, but he was never seen again.
4 Is there a real Dogger?
The real Dogger (pictured right with Shirley) certainly exists. My son Ed was given him for Christmas in 1959 by his Irish greatuncle. Little did we know then how famous his present would go on to be. He has been on show at various literary festivals, and even journeyed to Broadcasting House when I guest-edited Woman’s Hour – he also joined in the celebrations at my 90th birthday party. Now, he has given up the celebrity circuit and lives in quiet retirement in his special box, but comes out sometimes for family events, with one ear flopped down, just as in the books.
5 Which is your favourite character?
Alfie is the character I know best. Lots of children write to me about him and feel for him because he’s not very confident. At that point in pre-school life, it’s a serious issue trying to get your shoes on the right feet, or going to a party without your security blanket – these are big dramas for a child. He would be 33 years old now, but of course he’s a perennial pre-schooler, and continues to inspire me with new stories.
6 You turned 93 this year. Do you still write and draw every day?
I do sit down at my drawing board every day, though I take on less-pressurised deadlines. Drawing and painting is, and always will be, my greatest pleasure.
7 Which comes first: words or pictures?
When I am dreaming up an idea for a book, I draw the main characters, especially in action. I have always kept sketchbooks.
It is the best way to observe the way children move, how they stand when they are a bit unsure of themselves, or huddle together and then jump up and scatter like birds. I draw fast with a pencil or pen. It has a freedom and vigour, and flows from page to page. I think one of the greatest tests for an illustrator is to recapture the freedom of the sketch in the pictures for the final artwork. Drawing absorbs me completely. It is a much more tactile process than writing.
8 How has lockdown been for you?
I can cope because I am very used to being alone and getting on with my work. The family keep me going with grocery supplies and doorstep visits, and we have conversations across the void. I love the view from the desk in my workroom; I look across trees and down into a communal garden. I can observe the changing seasons, knowing that as the trees lose their leaves it won’t be long before buds arrive on the branches.
9 It’s been a tough year for children, with many becoming more and more wedded to their digital devices. Any tips for helping them get back into books?
I am full of sympathy for parents who are trying to cope with normal family life during and beyond lockdown. Reading aloud and chatting about the pictures together is a good idea. My own job with a picture book is to encourage children to slow down, and get them to pore over the drawings and recognise their own world on the page.
10 Any New Year’s resolutions?
I don’t tend to make New Year’s resolutions any more. But a new Alfie book in 2021 is highly likely.