An Evening At Alfies

Alfie

by Shirley Hughes

A burst pipe causes chaos over the upstairs landing while Alfie's parents are out, but Alfie, his baby-sitter, and her parents finally find a solution.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Childrens Classics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Shirley Hughes is the illustrator of more than two hundred children’s books and has won many prestigious awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal twice. She is the author-illustrator of DON'T WANT TO GO! and OLLY AND ME 1 2 3. She died at her home in London on the 25th of February, 2022.

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shirley Hughes is another lady I highly recommend. This is certainly one of her best ones.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like these little stories. They have plenty of words, I don't feel children's books should be too easy, and the illustrations are perfection.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shirley Hughes is one of those delightful authors that seems to just get children. Her books are like curling up with a little piece of your childhood, especially if you were fortunate like I was to be introduced to her work as a child. We are currently in the middle of a Shirley Hughes Author Study in our home and as we read a growing number of her books, this remains my favorite. AN EVENING AT ALFIE'S starts as a typical babysitting experience. Alfie's parents go to the a party and their neighbor, Maurine is babysitting. She reads Alfie a story and puts him to bed, but he cannot fall asleep because he hears a sound coming from the hall. It is a growing "drip drip drip" and when he goes to investigate he finds water falling from the ceiling. What follows is a child sized adventure in the most perfect sense. Hughes has a way of celebrating every day moments and recognizing their importance in the lives of children. Her illustrations are filled with warm, engaging details - my favorite is the little noah's ark play set - that encourage you to look closer at each page. You and your child will want to re-read this again and again.

[Isobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An evening at Alfie’s turns into a nightmare when a pipe busters and water pours through the ceiling. The babysit and he parents turn off the water and resolve the problem.

The illustrations in the book are unique with bold outlines and fine details of the water and colourful pictures of the clothes the people are wearing.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alfie is in bed trying to sleep when he hears a familiar sound. He comes downstairs to tell the baby-sitter “it’s raining on the landing”. As usual their friends and neighbours are here to help as they try to stop the leak.

[Chloe Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story written by Shirley Hughes. A classic story for children to read or be read to before bedtime or before home time at school. The story is lovely for lower KS1 as they may interpret the story differently to other children. A quiet evening turned dramatic!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

My two year old loves all Alfie.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alpha is one of my favorite literary characters. This book has babysitters, leaking plumbing, crying babies. It's got it all.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read from All About Alfie.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alissa liked it when Alfie played in a bowl of water with his sailboat.

[Mort's Kids · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is delightfully retro and so very wholesome. There are no bad guys and everyone's just doing their best and making reasonable decisions given the circumstances. (It's also very White. It's the Pleasentville of Children's Book settings.)

I hope the babysitter grows up to be the best plumber ever.

[Carly Hales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hit for Shirley Hughes. This one has the neighbor girl over babysitting when a water pipe in the ceiling bursts. Such a funny and realistic story but has the charm of seeing it through a child's eyes.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet. Just a shame about the stereotyping...

[RJC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad for an Alfie story

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2 year old loves to read books about things he recognises in real life and Alfie’s books are perfect for that.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book as a child :) read 100s of times, loved the story

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

obsessed (the exquisite nature of a plumber being just one of the things that Maureen wants to be!).

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One evening, Maureen the babysitter stays with Alfie and Annie Rose while Mom and Dad are out for the evening. After Alfie went to bed he heard a strange dripping sound. It's discovered that there is a leak in the ceiling and Maureen has to figure out how to make it stop. This is another wonderful Alfie story with beautiful illustrations.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

An evening at Alfie’s tells the story of a leak and the chaos it causes when Alfie and Annie-Rose’s parents head out for the night and are looked after by Mrs MacNally’s daughter Maureen. The description of the dripping falling onto the landing was a great part of the story that the children wanted to engage with and got the children discussing the sounds they hear when they are around water. The illustrations are extremely detailed and the children were eager to discuss the more intricate details of each picture.
Shirley Hughes is a timeless author, having grown up having her stories read to me and eventually being able to read classics from her collection myself I was thrilled when I discovered a huge collection of her books in my latest school placement. Having dug out my favourite book from my personal collection I read it to the year 3 children in my setting, along with my 6 and 3 year old nephews and 2 year old niece, all the children were equally engaged with the sorts and the illustrations. This shows that this book can be shared with children of all ages and also gives a good introduction to Shirley Hughes as a writer.

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alfie's parents are out for the evening, and Maureen, a teenaged babysitter, is in charge when a pipe bursts. She brings her parents over. All of the characters demonstrate admirable qualities: Maureen demonstrates respect for her parents and humility in asking for help, and her parents show love of neighbor as they exert tremendous effort to stop the water, clean up the mess, and care for the children. Following the climactic turning of the water main, Alfie turns from the excitement of the water to comfort his little sister, and helps the adults figure out why she is crying. Another tender story of child-size drama, told in a way young children can understand.

[Naleni Persaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

All is quiet at Alfie's house - Mum and Dad have gone out and Maureen's baby-sitting. Then . . . drip, drip, drip. It's raining inside! The drip turns into a downpour and Maureen's parents have to come round to deal with the burst pipe, but only Alfie can work out what's worrying Annie Rose. . . .

This story is a wonderfully warm celebration of brothers and sisters (and babysitters!).

I read this book many times when I was in primary school. It is a nice story to be read to reception as this is the time where many of them start to have younger siblings.

[Finny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mommy says: Initially Finny refused to let me read this book to him. I believe it was "too babyish" or he didn't like the illustrations. However, I told him the roof leaked in the story, and I asked if we could read a little bit to see what happened. He consented and ended up listening to the whole thing.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An evening with the babysitter has a little too much excitement with a leaky pipe and a crying sister. Love the detail on the illustrations and the way it feels like you're part of the family while reading the book, as if you've just stepped in to join them.

Note on reread: Still liked this book a lot. I wish I could find more of them.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only a child would respond to a broken water main by floating his toy boats in it...

[Horace Mann Family Reading Challenge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about water getting in the house of a boy named Alfie. A.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have rated this one slightly higher than the other Alfie books that I have read, because it is my daughter's favourite :-)

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reditt 2025: listen to an audio book
Pros: lovely story lots of nostalgia
Cons: not quite what it was as a child