Firth, Barbara

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Firth, Barbara

Personal

Female. Education: London College of Fashion, degree (pattern cutting).

Addresses

Home and office—Harrow, Middlesex, England.

Career

Illustrator. Worked previously for Vogue knitting books.

Awards, Honors

Kate Greenaway Medal and Nestlé Smarties' Book Prize, both 1988, both for Can't Sleep Little Bear?

Illustrator

Judy Allen, Exciting Things to Do with Nature Materials, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1977.

Rosemary Verey, The Herb Growing Book, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1980.

Sue Tarsky, The Potted Plant Book, Walker (London, England), 1980.

Gerald Marshall Hall, Pressing, Warne (London, England), 1982.

Gerald Marshall Hall, Fitting, Warne (London, England), 1982.

Toni Naldrett, Cutting Out, Warne (London, England), 1982.

Toni Naldrett, The Sewing Machine, Warne (London, England), 1982.

Sue John, The Special Days Cookbook, Philomel (New York, NY), 1982.

Margaret Lane, The Spider, Dial Press (New York, NY), 1982.

Henry Smith, Amazing Air, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1982.

Wendy Boase, Country Animals, Walker (London, England), 1983.

Wendy Boase, Park Animals, Walker (London, England), 1983.

Meriel Tilling, Embroidery, Warne (London, England), 1983.

David Lloyd, Jack the Dog, Walker (London, England), 1984.

David Lloyd, Mot the Mouse, Walker (London, England), 1984.

David Lloyd, Lady Loudly the Goose, Walker (London, England), 1984.

David Lloyd, Romeo and Juliet the Lovebirds, Walker (London, England), 1985.

David Lloyd, Waldo the Tortoise, Walker (London, England), 1985.

David Lloyd, Tumult the Rabbit, Walker (London, England), 1985.

Charles Causley, "Quack!" Said the Billy-Goat, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1986.

William Mayne, Leapfrog, Walker (London, England), 1987.

Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy, The Munros' New House, Walker (London, England), 1987.

Martin Waddell, The Park in the Dark, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1989.

Sarah Hayes, The Grumpalump, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 1990.

William Mayne, Barnabas Walks, Walker (London, England), 1990.

Martin Waddell, Sam Vole and His Brothers, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1992.

Karen Wallace, Bears in the Forest, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1994.

Peter Hansard, Wag, Wag, Wag, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1994.

Wendy Durell, Don't Open Your Mouth, London Borough of Harrow (London, England), 1994.

Vivian French, A Song for Little Toad, Walker (London, England), 1995.

Martin Waddell, We Love Them, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1997.

Jonathan London, At the Edge of the Forest, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1998.

Charles Causley, "Quack!" Said the Billy-Goat, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1999.

Martin Waddell, Tom Rabbit, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2001.

Martin Waddell, Hi, Harry!: The Moving Story of How One Slow Tortoise Slowly Made a Friend, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2003.

Emily Gibson, The Original Million Dollar Mermaid: The Annette Kellerman, Allen & Unwin (Crows Nest, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

"BIG AND LITTLE BEAR" SERIES

Martin Waddell, Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1992.

Martin Waddell, Let's Go Home, Little Bear, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1993.

Martin Waddell, You and Me, Little Bear, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1996.

Martin Waddell, Good Job, Little Bear!, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1999.

Martin Waddell, Well Done, Little Bear, Walker (London, England), 1999.

Martin Waddell, The Little Bear Stories, Walker (London, England), 2001.

Martin Waddell, Sleep Tight, Little Bear!, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Adaptations

Can't Sleep Little Bear was adapted for audiobook by Candlewick Press, 2004.

Sidelights

As an illustrator, Barbara Firth prefers to draw things relating to nature, a habit that began in childhood when she sketched the wildlife surrounding her family's rural English home. Working in collaboration with writer Martin Waddell, Firth helped create the popular "Big and Little Bear" picture-book series. Reviewing her career during an interview posted on the Walker Books Web site, Firth noted the delight she has gained from illustrating the "Big and Little Bear" series: "I have always been biased toward illustrating natural history," she admitted, "so it was a joy to be able to draw pages and pages of bears." Titles from the "Big and Little Bear" series include Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?, Let's Go Home, Little Bear, and You and Me, Little Bear.

[Image not available for copyright reasons]

Firth uses warm-toned watercolors and colored pencil to illustrate the "Big and Little Bear" series, delicately conveying the special relationship Big Bear and Little Bear share. Jennifer Mattson, in an assessment of Sleep Tight, Little Bear for Booklist, commented that "Firth's expressive artwork, washed in muted tones of pebble, wood, and sky, harnesses the emotional undercurrents" of her two main characters. Discussing the same book in School Library Journal, Lauralyn Persson wrote of Firth's original artwork that its "soft colors and artful lines add appeal, character, and atmosphere." Firth's incorporation of delicate details is another aspect that is characteristic of her art. For example, in her work with Waddell, she portrays Big Bear in an apron while Little Bear is illustrated carrying a "teddy-boy." A Kirkus Reviews critic acknowledged Firth's inclusion of details in Sleep Tight, Little Bear, adding that the illustrator's "soft, expressive watercolors are delightfully engaging with some amusing subtle touches."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 15, 1992, Janice del Negro, review of Sam Vole and His Brothers, p. 158; May 1, 1993, Carolyn Phelan, review of Let's Go Home, Little Bear, p. 1597; June 1, 1994, Ellen Mandel, review of Wag, Wag, Wag, p. 1838; October 1, 1996, April Judge, review of You and Me, Little Bear, p. 360; December 1, 1998, April Judge, review of At the Edge of the Forest, p. 671; August, 1999, Carolyn Phelan, review of Good Job, Little Bear, p. 2067; March 1, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of Tom Rabbit, p. 1289; March 1, 2003, Ilene Cooper, review of Hi Harry!: The Moving Story of How One Slow Tortoise Slowly Made a Friend, p. 1205; January 1, 2006, Jennifer Mattson, review of Sleep Tight, Little Bear, p. 119.

Horn Book, June, 1981, Mary M. Burns, review of The Herb Growing Book, p. 321; March-April, 1993, Ellen Fader, review of Let's Go Home, Little Bear, p. 202; November, 1995, review of A Song for Little Toad, p. 768; March, 1999, Ellen Fader, review of Good Job, Little Bear, p. 203; March-April, 2003, Kitty Flynn, review of Hi Harry!, p. 207; January-February, 2004, review of Hi Harry!, p. 10; January-February, 2006, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Sleep Tight, Little Bear, p. 72.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2003, review of Hi Harry!, p. 480; October 15, 2003, review of Sleep Tight, Little Bear, p. 1148.

Publishers Weekly, February 10, 1989, review of The Park in the Dark, p. 69; December 6, 1991, review of Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?, p. 73; August 17, 1998, review of At the Edge of the Forest, p. 72; March 24, 2003, review of Hi Harry!, p. 74; March 30, 1990, review of We Love Them, p. 60; March 22, 1993, review of Let's Go Home, Little Bear, p. 78; July 31, 1995, review of A Song for Little Toad, p. 80; July 8, 1996, review of You and Me, Little Bear, p. 83.

School Library Journal, March, 1983, Margaret Bush, review of The Spider, p. 164; March, 1983, Katherine Stemmer, review of The Special Days Cookbook, p. 178; July, 1989, Reva Pitch Margolis, review of The Park in the Dark, p. 77; August, 1990, Patricia Pearl, review of We Love Them, p. 135; September 1, 1991, Anna DeWind, review of Grumpalump, p. 233; September, 1995, Patricia Pearl Dole, review of A Song for Little Toad, p. 176; April, 2001, Kathy M. Newby, review of Tom Rabbit, p. 124; April, 2003, Piper L. Nyman, review of Hi Harry!, p. 142; December, 2005, Lauralyn Persson, review of Sleep Tight, Little Bear, p. 122.

Times Educational Supplement, March 24, 1989, Ann Thwaite, review of The Park in the Dark, p. 25; June 29, 1990, John Lawrence, review of We Love Them, p. 34; May 15, 1992, review of Grumpalump, p. 23; October 18, 1996, review of You and Me, Little Bear, p. 12.

Tribune Books (Chicago, IL), April 1, 2001, review of Tom Rabbit, p. 4.