We discovered Hughes while living "down under" where she is better known thanks to Australia's strong ties to Britain. Also highly recommend her poems such as found in _The Nursery Collection_. Wonderful, rich illustrations; warm, loving families.

Shirley Hughes's books are generally terrific. This is a great way to buy, since a collection is cheaper than the individual books, though the price is quite high in US $, being a British edition.

I must have read this book, to my niece over 100 times. When we read this book Alfie comes to life, like when the time Alfie gets in first,we wondered how he would let his mum and little sister in as he was too small to reach the door latch, and also Alfie's new shoes was a great adventure for us as my niece once said just before falling asleep I don't want new shoes either I think alfie should keep his old ones because if he gets new ones they wont be able to walk him home and he might get lost. Little annie rose also makes the story complete as it showed us the real life adventures brothers and sisters can have. It is a great book and katie and I would recomend every child has one.Katie and I first started reading this book when she was two and now at the age of seven when I go to visit her she reads it to me.This book is full of love,adventures and and real family values and has given us hours of fun.All i have left to say is thank you Alfie and thank you Shirley Hughes.

My 2-year-old daughter LOVES this book. I've been reading it 3-4 times a day for the last two weeks. Frankly, I don't think the book is exceptional but she certainly does! She even "reads" it by herself.

What a shame this book is out of print. My 2 year old son loves this book.The illustrations are wonderfull the busy shoe shop and the cosy kitchen where Dad is making tea. Its the perfect rainy day book. My son always wants to go and put on his yellow boots just like Alfie and go out and jump in the puddles. SPLISH, SPLASH, SPLOSH

Angel Mae is a touching story. It gives me the opportunity to talk about many issues with my 3 year old : jelousy, anger, anxiety, excitment, happiness. Yet the story is natural, funny, and definately not soppy. The illustrations are excellent.

Shirley Hughes is a great author and illustrater. She is able to capture all the sweet memories of chilhood with a great rhyms that captivate young children. I love her work and try to get my hands on all of her books!

Okay, okay, to a point I agree with the above editorial reviews that rather unkindly ground this book into the dirt, as Shirley Hughes's 'Enchantment in the Garden' *is* a little clumsy. Most fans of her work are used to her famous 'Alfie and Annie Rose' books, where the small delights of childhood are emplified through her warm, inviting paintings. Therefore some people might be disconcerted that her trademark chubby, rosy-cheeked toddlers are replaced by two young people on the verge of adolesence, with touches of a premature romance between them. However, that should not stop the true beauty or fairytale lover, and if given half a chance, I believe this poignant tale has all the makings of a beloved classic.

Valerie is a young girl who is drastically lonely - she has no friends, her father (who we never see in the book and is only mentioned once) works in the hotel business, and her mother is a 'beautiful American... who breakfasted late, then drove out to meet her friends'. Therefore, on one of her regular walks through the park with her governess, she declares her love and friendship to her favourite stone statue - a youth riding a dolphin - and names him Cherubino. The following day, the statue is gone, leaving only the stone dolphin, but on running away through the hedge garden, Valerie finds none other than a flesh-and-blood Cherubino before her!

After she rescues him from the dark, stale orphanage, Cherubino takes up residence in the gardener's home, where the two children meet by night to discuss all manner of things. Here is when Cherubino reveals he is the son of a sea god, who had been a stone statue for many hundreds of years (unfortunatly, we never learn how this occured or why) before being freed by Valerie. Accompaning Valerie and her family on a visit to the seaside Cherubino is angered by the use of the beach - hotels and villas and automobiles and runs away.

Valerie despairs of ever seeing him again, till by night he returns once more, explaining to her he is going to return to his homeland, making it green and fertile once more, but leaving her with some beautiful parting words: "Sea gods can love humans sometimes, you know...And when we do, we have very long memories." With the promise of one day being together once more, Valerie finds the stone dolphin (now desposited in the untended gardens of the park) and together, they await Cherubino's return.

As you can see, the story is not filled with climaxes and surprises - I did not mean to write out the entire summary in this review, but found I had to because there are no dramatic points to leave the reader hanging with. It is mellow, calm and meandering - a book to be read on a lazy summer day, not as a bed time story. In some way, it is like a fine wine - it grows richer each time you read it, resonancing deeper each time - I myself get more moved at Cherubino's parting with Valerie and his promise for the future. This is the positive way of looking at the story - some may feel frustrated at its pace, the not-quite-realised relationship between between the two children (Hughes leaves their bond mostly unspoken) and I know I did get a little tired of the continual pattern of Cherubino running away or getting taken away - it happens four times!

However, I severely disagree with the editorial reviews that claim Shirley Hughes's illustrations don't match the story - I think they do beautifully. She has spent summers painting in Italy, and everything from her gardens to her beaches, her estates to her oceans, by day or by night evoke all kinds of feelings and atmospheres. I especially love her formal-yet-somehow-wild gardens and the Greek statues whose eyes seem to watch Valerie where-ever she goes, and her vast, moody oceans in which humans seem hopelessly insignificent by comparison.

Basically, the verdict is this: if you read this book critically, it will disappoint, but if you take the wiser approach and read it without bias or strictness - simply letting yourself drift through the words and pictures - you and your kids will love it.

I truly loved Margaret Mahy's stories of magic in nature, collected here under the title The Girl With the Green Ear. She has the most wonderful descriptions of hidden wonders of the world, and her use of imagery is fabulous. The Girl With the Green Ear is just one of several short stories that show us that the world really is a fascinating place. In one story she writes how a young boy was bribed by a wicked queen with "a singing cricket in an ivory cage and a box of velvet in which sits a single dewdrop." I could read her stories forever, and they are perfect for any age.

This very funny book appealed to both a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old. It has a mystery and much humor.

My two sons (ages 4 and 2) love for me to read this book to them because they see themselves in the children. I can relate to the mother - especially as she loses her car keys when it's time to go! What beautiful pictures! We all love this book!