I have a friend who read all the Alfie books to her young children and many aspects of the lives of these children became part of their family vocabulary and nostalgia. This means I was not surprised when she suggested I add Alfie's Christmas to my series of Christmas Letters posts.
"Mum helped Alfie to make a list of all the presents he wanted. It was quite a long list. Then she helped him write a letter to Father Christmas. Alfie drew a picture of himself to go with it and they put their address at the top. Then they put it in an envelope with 'To Father Christmas' written on it and Mum helped Alfie post it in the pillar box at the end of their street."
In the illustration of Christmas morning, we can see Alfie surrounded by his presents - coloured pencils, a toy car, a windup mouse, an orange, a torch and a small Santa hat for his toy Flumbo. Under the tree Alfie finds a bright orange scooter with a red and blue helmet. He also receives a remote-control space buggy but, typical of presents like this, it needs batteries! I love the way Shirley Hughes includes a relative visiting from Australia. Great Uncle Will tells Alfie about Christmas 'down under' - summer, swimming, barbeques, beach visits, colourful parrots and once Uncle Will even saw a koala!
Here are all the Alfie books by Shirley Hughes:
Book 1: Alfie's Feet (1982)
Book 2: Alfie Gives A Hand (1983)
Book 3: An Evening at Alfie's (1984)
Book 4: The Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook (1988)
Book 5: Alfie Gets in First (1991)
Book 6: The Big Alfie Out of Doors Storybook (1992)
Book 7: The Alfie Collection (1992)
Book 8: The Alfie Treasury (1994)
Book 9: Rhymes for Annie Rose (1995)
Book 10: Alfie & The Birthday Surprise (1997)
Book 11: All About Alfie (1997)
Book 12: Alfie's Alphabet (1997)
Book 13: Alfie's ABC (1982)
Book 14: Alfie Goes Camping (1999)
Book 15: Alfie's 1 2 3 (1999)
Book 16: Alfie's Numbers (2000)
Book 17: Alfie's Weather (2001)
Book 18: Annie Rose Is My Little Sister (2002)
Book 19: Alfie Wins A Prize (2004)
Book 20: Alfie's World (2006)
Book 21: Alfie and the Big Boys (2007)
Book 22: My Alfie Collection (2011)
Book 23: Alfie's Shop (2013)
Book 24: Alfie's Christmas (2013)
Book 25: Alfie Gets in First ad Other Stories (2015)
Book 26: Alfie & Grandma (2015)
Book 27: Alfie Outdoors (2016)
Book 28: Alfie and Mum (2016)
Book 29: Alfie and His Very Best Friend (2016)
Book 30: Alfie and Dad (2017)
Book 31: Alfie at Nursery School (2018)
Book 32: Alfie on Holiday (2019)
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