Up and Up

Shirley Hughes
The magical story of a little girl shoes wish to fly finally comes true, much to the alarm of the grown-ups.
A wordless story that is truly delightful – a triumph in true classic Shirley Hughes style.
When we borrowed this from the Nursery School Library my daughter (3 and a half) was most disconcerted when we got it home and realised there were no words in it. However once we began to look at it she was captivated by the enchanting drawings that tell the story.
A little girl watching birds longs to fly and when a magical egg gives her that chance she grabs it. Through the pictures we follow her on her exciting adventure, flying around the kitchen and then out into the garden and beyond to the street, over tree’s and away. The little girl is exhilarated by her new ability, her parents are a little concerned! They follow after her, as much as they can and are soon joined by a stream of people looking at the girl in the sky. She is keen to escape capture and leads them all a merry dance until, after evading nets and a hot air balloon, she finally comes down again having had an unforgettable time.
The lovely thing about this is that every time we tell it, it is a little different and every different person who tells it brings something fresh. The wealth of detail in the pictures encourages the use of more than a little imagination and it was particularly special to see my older daughter ‘reading’ this to my younger one and also the younger one’s pleasure in being able to tell us the story.
Verdict: This was a very popular book with my children and encouraged them to engage with a book in a different way. Brilliant!
Reviewed by Helen