Shirley Barber – best-selling Australian children’s author who sold more than 10 million copies of books including Martha B Rabbit – dies peacefully in her sleep
Beloved children’s author and illustrator Shirley Barber died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 88.
Barber’s publisher, Brolly Books, announced her death Tuesday morning.
Although she never received formal art training, Barber captured the attention of children around the world with her heartwarming storybooks.
Best known for her Martha B. Rabbit and Fairies’ Cook series, she has sold more than 10 million books, diaries and calendars worldwide.
“Each of Shirley’s children’s books contains gentle messages of kindness, caring, friendship and peace, never exaggerated but simply conveyed through the characters in her stories and their actions,” Brolly Books said in a statement.
Beloved children’s author and illustrator Shirley Barber (above) passed away in her sleep Tuesday morning at the age of 88
Shirley Barber sold more than 10 million books, diaries and calendars around the world (photo, Rainbow Magic by Shirley Barber)
Barber, a long-time Australian resident, moved with her family from her home in the UK-owned Channel Islands to Watsonia, north of Melbourne, in 1965.
In a 2008 interview, Barber admitted that she had always believed in fairies and understood that her fantasy worlds were an important escape for children.
“I think some people perceive energies that they actually see as fairies and elves,” she told The Age.
‘(When I was a child) I saw fairies passing by my window.
‘I didn’t fall asleep easily and thought I saw this flight of fairies at dusk.’
Barber moved to Melbourne from Britain in 1965 (photo, The Fairies’ Cookbook by Shirley Barber)