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 Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

(

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

). She had formal art school training at Sanderson's Furnishings, a textile and wallpaper studio in London.Katherine Kizilos, "Our fairy Grandmother", ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 18 August 2008, p. 13 Barber was a long time resident in Australia having emigrated there in 1965 and worked for a time for

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. 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. Barber wrote many picture books and

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

-themed colouring books, calendars and diaries, which have sold over 10 million copies as of 2008. Most of Barber's books featured fairies and animals. Her books were mainly set in picturesque woods. Her books were published in 18 languages. Barber died at her home in Watsonia on 12 December 2023, at the age of 88.

Career

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 A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to Australia in 1965 with her family, taking on the role as an illustrator for

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 Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

and instead was recommended to try the publisher Five Mile Press. 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. Her first book received a special mention in the international

Bologna Children's Book Fair The Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world. Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy. It is the meeting place for al ...

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.

Works

References

External links

Shirley Publisher's Site

Australian Fantasy Art

Goodread's Profile on Shirley Barber
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Shirley 1935 births 2023 deaths English children's writers English children's book illustrators English women children's book illustrators Australian children's book illustrators Australian children's writers Australian women children's book illustrators Australian illustrators People from the Bailiwick of Guernsey English emigrants to Australia Writers from Melbourne