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Come Away from the Water, Shirley
Shirley's adventures at the beach are interspersed with familiar parental warnings.
28 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
About the author
John Burningham
150 books110 followershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bur...
Married to Helen Oxenbury They have one son and two daughters.
John Burningham was born in 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, and attended the alternative school, Summerhill. In 1954 he spent two years travelling through Italy, Yugoslavia and Israel, working at a variety of jobs.
From 1956-1959, he studied at the Central School of Art, after which he designed posters for London Transport and the British Transport Commission. He also spent a year on an animated puppet film in the Middle East. He then became a writer and illustrator of children's books, his first book, Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers (1963) winning the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1963, an achievement he repeated with Mr Gumpy's Outing (1970).
Since then, he has written and illustrated many children's books. He is also a freelance designer of murals, exhibitions models, magazine illustrations and advertisements.
Married to Helen Oxenbury They have one son and two daughters.
John Burningham was born in 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, and attended the alternative school, Summerhill. In 1954 he spent two years travelling through Italy, Yugoslavia and Israel, working at a variety of jobs.
From 1956-1959, he studied at the Central School of Art, after which he designed posters for London Transport and the British Transport Commission. He also spent a year on an animated puppet film in the Middle East. He then became a writer and illustrator of children's books, his first book, Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers (1963) winning the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1963, an achievement he repeated with Mr Gumpy's Outing (1970).
Since then, he has written and illustrated many children's books. He is also a freelance designer of murals, exhibitions models, magazine illustrations and advertisements.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
September 5, 2017
کتابِ بسیار هولناکی بود و برای بنده نشانه-گذار ورود به دورانی جدید از زندگی. چرا؟
چون برای اولین بار در زندگی ام، در مواجهه ی مادر و پدرِ کتاب با بچه ،با مادر و پدر همذات پنداری داشتم نه با بچّه!
دو نقطه زار زار
و بگذارید اعتراف کنم که حتی امر و نهی ها و -مثلاً- دلسوزی های مادرِ قصه را با صدای خودم می شنیدم! قشنگ آن وقت ها که به محمدرضا بکن و نکن می گویم و آدم ضدحالِ گروه هستم که نمی فهمد چه قدر بچّه باحالِ گروه دارد کارهای جالب و هیجان انگیزی می کند، برایم تداعی شد!
حتّی می فهمیدم که مادر چه قدر دارد سعی می کند که خوب و کول و بدون تحکّم باشد در حرف زدن! و تازه، مگر چیزهای بدی به دخترک می گفت؟
راست می گفت دیگر! آفتاب، تند بود و آب، سرد و جلبک، کثیف و پدر، خسته! نبود؟
ما پدر و مادرها لابد همه مان خیر بچه ها را می خواهیم، فقط کاش یادمان نرود که گرفتن صورت جلوی بادی که از پنجره ی ماشین به داخل می وزد چه قدر لذت بخش است حتی اگر کمی خطرناک باشد یا این که شنا کردن در آب سرد ممکن است به سرماخوردگی بعدش بیارزد، بس که آن حس یخ زدن مغز استخوان و به هم خوردن دندان ها بر اثر سرما می تواند خواستنی باشد...
و این را هم یادمان نرود که دنیای دیگری هم هست. دنیایی که "سرزمین وحشی ها" روی نقشه ها و کره ها (یا شاید مکعب ها!) ی جغرافیایی اش قابل پیدا کردن است. جهانی موازی که کرجی تنها و کشتی دزدان دریایی و صندوقچه ی گنجش، در همان لحظه ی خمیازه ها و اسکرول کردن صفحه های نامتناهی و خیال های واقعی -مثل حقوقی که نریخته اند و قسطی که عقب افتاده- دارد محقّق می شود.
حقیقی تر از واقعی ترین خیال های ما.
کاشکی می توانستیم -به قول اریش اُزر- کودکی مان را چون کلاهی کهنه دور نیاندازیم.
چون برای اولین بار در زندگی ام، در مواجهه ی مادر و پدرِ کتاب با بچه ،با مادر و پدر همذات پنداری داشتم نه با بچّه!
دو نقطه زار زار
و بگذارید اعتراف کنم که حتی امر و نهی ها و -مثلاً- دلسوزی های مادرِ قصه را با صدای خودم می شنیدم! قشنگ آن وقت ها که به محمدرضا بکن و نکن می گویم و آدم ضدحالِ گروه هستم که نمی فهمد چه قدر بچّه باحالِ گروه دارد کارهای جالب و هیجان انگیزی می کند، برایم تداعی شد!
حتّی می فهمیدم که مادر چه قدر دارد سعی می کند که خوب و کول و بدون تحکّم باشد در حرف زدن! و تازه، مگر چیزهای بدی به دخترک می گفت؟
راست می گفت دیگر! آفتاب، تند بود و آب، سرد و جلبک، کثیف و پدر، خسته! نبود؟
ما پدر و مادرها لابد همه مان خیر بچه ها را می خواهیم، فقط کاش یادمان نرود که گرفتن صورت جلوی بادی که از پنجره ی ماشین به داخل می وزد چه قدر لذت بخش است حتی اگر کمی خطرناک باشد یا این که شنا کردن در آب سرد ممکن است به سرماخوردگی بعدش بیارزد، بس که آن حس یخ زدن مغز استخوان و به هم خوردن دندان ها بر اثر سرما می تواند خواستنی باشد...
و این را هم یادمان نرود که دنیای دیگری هم هست. دنیایی که "سرزمین وحشی ها" روی نقشه ها و کره ها (یا شاید مکعب ها!) ی جغرافیایی اش قابل پیدا کردن است. جهانی موازی که کرجی تنها و کشتی دزدان دریایی و صندوقچه ی گنجش، در همان لحظه ی خمیازه ها و اسکرول کردن صفحه های نامتناهی و خیال های واقعی -مثل حقوقی که نریخته اند و قسطی که عقب افتاده- دارد محقّق می شود.
حقیقی تر از واقعی ترین خیال های ما.
کاشکی می توانستیم -به قول اریش اُزر- کودکی مان را چون کلاهی کهنه دور نیاندازیم.
August 28, 2011
I just love this book. I have read it to groups and classes of children aged 3-6, who have all loved it. Shirley and her mum and dad go to the beach. Mum and Dad sit on deck chairs, knitting, eating a picnic, reading the paper and dozing. The left hand page has a line of text, all of it Mum giving instructions to Shirley to not get dirty, to stop throwing stones, to come and have a drink, while the right hand page shows Shirley rowing to a pirate ship, fighting pirates, walking the plank and finding buried treasure. Children have always understood that this is a celebration of Shirley's imagination, and it is great for developing visual literacy and promoting discussion. Highly recommended.
March 17, 2016
A 1001 CBYMRBYGU. A mom, a dad, and their daughter, Shirley, go to the beach. On one side of the page, the mom and dad sit in their beach chairs, talking about the various dangers of the beach. On the other side, a silent Shirley, apparently unbeknownst to them, goes off on a pirate ship and finds treasure.
(Picture of mom and dad sitting in beach chairs on the left)
“Why don’t you go and play
with those children?”
(Picture of Shirley rowing a boat out to a large pirate boat is on the right)
(Picture of mom and dad sitting in beach chairs on the left)
“Why don’t you go and play
with those children?”
(Picture of Shirley rowing a boat out to a large pirate boat is on the right)
August 3, 2020
This is a really clever book that tells one story through the words and another one with the pictures, as they reveal something bigger. Shirley and her parents go to the seaside and Shirley is left on her own to play. Her parents talk to her, telling her not to do things, but Shirley (in the pictures) is in an imaginary world of her own having wonderful adventures battling pirates etc.
This would be great to discuss the counterpoint between the two stories with the children, looking at the author’s choice of language for the parents and the illustrations of Shirley. They could write their own descriptions/ words for each of the pictures to match Shirley’s adventures and compare this to the original. This would highlight Burningham’s craft in a way the children could understand.
This would be great to discuss the counterpoint between the two stories with the children, looking at the author’s choice of language for the parents and the illustrations of Shirley. They could write their own descriptions/ words for each of the pictures to match Shirley’s adventures and compare this to the original. This would highlight Burningham’s craft in a way the children could understand.
July 2, 2021
ششمین کتاب از ده کتاب کلاسیک کودک منتخب پیتر هانت/
یه ماجراجویی جذاب که فقط وقتی قطع میشه که مادر شرلی صداش میزنه و چیزی بهش میگه.
شاید کمی تحکم امیز به نظر بیاد در نگاه اول، اما سفر ادامه پیدا میکنه. من به عنوان یه ادم بزرگ شاید رفتار مادر شرلی که دائم دستور میده و پدرش که اهمیت نمیده رو رو اعصاب یا بی مسئولیتی ببینم. اما برای شرلی اینطور نیست و این هوشمندی نویسنده است. شرلی دقیقا مثل یه بچه تصویر شده، نه تصویری از یه بچه که نویسنده به ما نشون میده.
شرلی نه توقع داره پدرش باهاش بازی کنه-و نیازی هم نداره- و نه واکنش تندی به مادرش نشون میده. تمام چیزی که نیاز داره تخیلشه.
یه ادم بزرگ بودنم علاوه بر اینکه مادر شرلی رو رو اعصاب به حساب میاره اما همینطور بهم میگه که همه در رفتار با بچه ها نیاز به توصیه کردن رو حس میکنن، و شاید اصلا چون فکر میکنی بزرگی و نیازی بهشون نداریه که اون توصیه ها رو نابجا میبینی.
یه ماجراجویی جذاب که فقط وقتی قطع میشه که مادر شرلی صداش میزنه و چیزی بهش میگه.
شاید کمی تحکم امیز به نظر بیاد در نگاه اول، اما سفر ادامه پیدا میکنه. من به عنوان یه ادم بزرگ شاید رفتار مادر شرلی که دائم دستور میده و پدرش که اهمیت نمیده رو رو اعصاب یا بی مسئولیتی ببینم. اما برای شرلی اینطور نیست و این هوشمندی نویسنده است. شرلی دقیقا مثل یه بچه تصویر شده، نه تصویری از یه بچه که نویسنده به ما نشون میده.
شرلی نه توقع داره پدرش باهاش بازی کنه-و نیازی هم نداره- و نه واکنش تندی به مادرش نشون میده. تمام چیزی که نیاز داره تخیلشه.
یه ادم بزرگ بودنم علاوه بر اینکه مادر شرلی رو رو اعصاب به حساب میاره اما همینطور بهم میگه که همه در رفتار با بچه ها نیاز به توصیه کردن رو حس میکنن، و شاید اصلا چون فکر میکنی بزرگی و نیازی بهشون نداریه که اون توصیه ها رو نابجا میبینی.
October 16, 2017
JB illustrates the parents and their demands on one side of the double spread and Shirley's on the other page. The illustrations for the parents are staid and plain and those for Shirley freer, more fun, colourful and loose, representing her adventures. JB uses text to show the nagging demands of the parents (I can hear their voices in my head!), whereas Shirley has no text to reflect what she says, the pictures denote her wild imagination. Lovely story with great humour. JB has a clear understanding of parents and their expectations and those of children's. He is very good at parody!
March 16, 2017
Come away from the water, Shirley is a fantastic book depicting the power of imagination. Shirley is visiting the beach with her mother and father, as seen on the first page. Both the first and the last pages are the only ones where all three characters are together. Shirley’s parents remain on the left hand pages throughout the book, whereas Shirley is always on the right hand side pages. Her parents are stationary and do not move far between pages; a hand there, a head turn here; they are not on a journey. Shirley is very much on a journey, drastically moving between pages, we see the life and adventure between each scene. Battling pirates, diving over board and hunting for treasure.
A key feature within John Burningham’s picture book is the use of colour. To start with on the first page, in which we have all three characters the colours are slightly washed out. Originally bright colours, but almost faded, with the excitement taken out of them, but still present to represent the adventure that’s about to happen. Although diminished we can feel the looming exhilaration and discovery, it is just slightly quietened (representative of perhaps Shirley’s minimalised imagination around her parents?). The illustrator very much favours the colour white, which we begin to associate with images of the mother and father. We come to the second page and the colours seemed to have faded even more. It seems with the removal of Shirley from the frame the colour has diminished. On the third page is the first frame where Shirley is by herself and the contrast is paramount. The colours are no longer washed and faded, and she now has colour to her arms and legs, the excitement of what’s to come is palpable. The theme of strong and weak colours continues throughout the book. The left hand side remains to be washed out whereas the context, colour and vibrancy of the right hand sides are constantly changing, with each new scene becoming more detailed and exhilarating than the last. There are dark ominous colours of the pirate ships, stimulating trepidation and bright yellows of the sunset triggering happiness and success. The last page returns to a similar style of the first page, we do however have slightly more colour to the frame.
With regards to framing and perspective all the pages are framed but with such small frames they almost look full bled. None of the images break from the frame, representative of Shirley’s parents being far from adventurous and Shirley, although she has a vivid imagination, is never actually that free. She remains safe within the frame of the picture book. One of the key differences between the images on the left hand side of the book and the right hand side of the book is the horizons. All the pictures of Shirley’s mother and father have no horizon, there is no further perspective or adventure; they are present within the moment lacking open mindedness and adventure. The horizons in Shirley’s pictures are all vast and colourful; we are invited into her adventure and exploration.
The words are all on the left hand side of the page, all of which are spoken by her mother or father. They complement the pictures by providing such a stark contrast to what is being depicted. A truly fantastic book showing the power of a child’s vivid imagination compared to that of an adult. It does make me wish I was that age again, to be able to conjure such images into my head, so real you almost believe it yourself.
A key feature within John Burningham’s picture book is the use of colour. To start with on the first page, in which we have all three characters the colours are slightly washed out. Originally bright colours, but almost faded, with the excitement taken out of them, but still present to represent the adventure that’s about to happen. Although diminished we can feel the looming exhilaration and discovery, it is just slightly quietened (representative of perhaps Shirley’s minimalised imagination around her parents?). The illustrator very much favours the colour white, which we begin to associate with images of the mother and father. We come to the second page and the colours seemed to have faded even more. It seems with the removal of Shirley from the frame the colour has diminished. On the third page is the first frame where Shirley is by herself and the contrast is paramount. The colours are no longer washed and faded, and she now has colour to her arms and legs, the excitement of what’s to come is palpable. The theme of strong and weak colours continues throughout the book. The left hand side remains to be washed out whereas the context, colour and vibrancy of the right hand sides are constantly changing, with each new scene becoming more detailed and exhilarating than the last. There are dark ominous colours of the pirate ships, stimulating trepidation and bright yellows of the sunset triggering happiness and success. The last page returns to a similar style of the first page, we do however have slightly more colour to the frame.
With regards to framing and perspective all the pages are framed but with such small frames they almost look full bled. None of the images break from the frame, representative of Shirley’s parents being far from adventurous and Shirley, although she has a vivid imagination, is never actually that free. She remains safe within the frame of the picture book. One of the key differences between the images on the left hand side of the book and the right hand side of the book is the horizons. All the pictures of Shirley’s mother and father have no horizon, there is no further perspective or adventure; they are present within the moment lacking open mindedness and adventure. The horizons in Shirley’s pictures are all vast and colourful; we are invited into her adventure and exploration.
The words are all on the left hand side of the page, all of which are spoken by her mother or father. They complement the pictures by providing such a stark contrast to what is being depicted. A truly fantastic book showing the power of a child’s vivid imagination compared to that of an adult. It does make me wish I was that age again, to be able to conjure such images into my head, so real you almost believe it yourself.
April 25, 2019
The picture book is set in the seaside, which is relatable to children's every day life where children do go to the seaside, especially on holiday. The story is about a girl using her imagination on the beach and her father is telling her what not to do. This mirrors family relationships and family holidays which can encourage discussion amongst children, where the can talk about their own experiences on the beach. Overall, the pictures make the story more interesting and engaging for young children to read and discuss with their peers about.
September 21, 2020
I thought the story was quite boring because the pictures were bland and lacked imagination and colour. I felt that the layout of the book was confusing because the text did not match the pictures. The characters I felt were quite forgettable as well which meant it was hard to invest in the story. The concept and location is interesting but I thought the execution was not what I enjoyed because I did not like the pictures and the design of the characters.
December 17, 2020
A great book that shows two stories, one of Shirley's parents who are lounging on the beach, completely oblivious to what is happening around them and Shirley, their daughter who takes a dip in the ocean, finds herself on a pirate ship and uses her map to find some treasure. Both parties leave the beach happy after an 'eventful' day!
Although the book is short, with very simple sentences, Shirley's story is cleverly told through the illustrations which clearly depicts the kind of day she is having!
A great book to read with KS1!
Although the book is short, with very simple sentences, Shirley's story is cleverly told through the illustrations which clearly depicts the kind of day she is having!
A great book to read with KS1!
Want to Read
January 31, 2022This book also takes a cool perspective on differing points of view. The name “Come Away from the Water, Shirley” is a warning of her parents to a young girl. The book shows two different perspectives in the illustrations, one of what Shirley is seeing, and the other of what the parents are imagining. This is post modern because of the multiple perspectives and differing narrators depending on the image you are seeing. It was very interesting and fun to see the different points of view from the same situation.
January 30, 2022
This book can definitely be classified as Postmodern. There are multiple stories being told at the same time both through text and picture. Through the actual text, Shirley is receiving instructions from her parents while she is exploring her imagination and her own view of the story through the illustrations. This book is very visually pleasing and gives students an opportunity to use their imagination in multiple aspects. Definitely going to use this book in my future classroom.
October 4, 2023
Vatti, Mutti und Shirley gehen an den Strand. Während dem die Erwachsenen (auf der linken Seite) den Ausflug völlig anders wahrnehmen als Shirley (rechte Seite, die mit den Piraten). Wenig Text, aber witzig gestaltet.
April 12, 2017
به آب نزدیک نشو دخترم؛ انتشارات علمی فرهنگی
March 1, 2017
"John Burningham's picture books are reading adventures with deep reading secrets" (Meek, 1988, p. 15). This informed my reading as I read the book several times to develop connections and comprehend the concept of the story.
The spoken text is only provided on the page where the parents are, through one-line instructional language which potentially highlights their authoritative role. However, the monotone language and pictures together depict the realistic nature of parents, as they sit in the deck chairs with the mother knitting and the father reading his newspaper. This post-modern book enables the child reader to relate from their own experiences at the beach.
On the recto Shirley's actions are only depicted through pictures. This breaks the convention of a regular story as the verso and recto do not seamlessly flow. Burningham uses this as an opportunity for the reader to envisage and interpret Shirley's journey through pictures. This encompasses the picturebook codes as the reader is required to grasp meaning from the pictures which contribute to the telling of the story (Doonan, 1992). Thus, two modes of story telling are used which are conventionally stereotypical of the characters, the adults represent realism and the child represents imagination and adventure.
The reader is placed at the same level as the characters and looking straight-on throughout, suggesting the reader is travelling along two different journeys with the characters. Although, Burningham's use of frames suggest we are only allowed a glimpse into their world. Burningham uses a diminishing return through situating the parents in one scene and one position. Burningham uses watercolours, as he does in his other work. For the parents a black and white monotonous background reflects their boring nature. Whereas Shirley's adventure is detailed, with the use of bright colours, different positions and background on each page.
I think this story enables a child reader to understand that Shirley's adventure is not realistic. However, they can relate to the situation of parents giving instruction and the child doing what they want, as this is what I related to, which will most likely be the case in many children's lives.
Shirley is not provided with narrative, the parents continue to talk in spite of receiving no answers and then the book comes to abrupt end. This leaves the reader curious which leaves room for the reader to engage and interpret the book in different ways.
The spoken text is only provided on the page where the parents are, through one-line instructional language which potentially highlights their authoritative role. However, the monotone language and pictures together depict the realistic nature of parents, as they sit in the deck chairs with the mother knitting and the father reading his newspaper. This post-modern book enables the child reader to relate from their own experiences at the beach.
On the recto Shirley's actions are only depicted through pictures. This breaks the convention of a regular story as the verso and recto do not seamlessly flow. Burningham uses this as an opportunity for the reader to envisage and interpret Shirley's journey through pictures. This encompasses the picturebook codes as the reader is required to grasp meaning from the pictures which contribute to the telling of the story (Doonan, 1992). Thus, two modes of story telling are used which are conventionally stereotypical of the characters, the adults represent realism and the child represents imagination and adventure.
The reader is placed at the same level as the characters and looking straight-on throughout, suggesting the reader is travelling along two different journeys with the characters. Although, Burningham's use of frames suggest we are only allowed a glimpse into their world. Burningham uses a diminishing return through situating the parents in one scene and one position. Burningham uses watercolours, as he does in his other work. For the parents a black and white monotonous background reflects their boring nature. Whereas Shirley's adventure is detailed, with the use of bright colours, different positions and background on each page.
I think this story enables a child reader to understand that Shirley's adventure is not realistic. However, they can relate to the situation of parents giving instruction and the child doing what they want, as this is what I related to, which will most likely be the case in many children's lives.
Shirley is not provided with narrative, the parents continue to talk in spite of receiving no answers and then the book comes to abrupt end. This leaves the reader curious which leaves room for the reader to engage and interpret the book in different ways.
October 1, 2019
Come away from the water, Shirley is a brilliant picture book by the author, John Burningham. The book is a told very simply with a double page spread. On the left hand page you will find Shirley’s parents who are unmoved from their spot on the beach and are constantly reminding Shirley to either be careful or other orders. Meanwhile the right hand side of the book is filled with Shirley’s adventures. The story shows the power of a child’s imagination and this is brilliantly brought to life in the illustrations. The pictures are by far the most important aspect of this book as the only words are from the parents ‘barking’ instructions to Shirley. As the book goes on the pictures showing Shirley’s adventure gain more and more detail whilst also showing a real vivid colour scheme.
For a child to be able to read this book they would of course need a basic understanding of reading whilst also the ability to link the words to the pictures. It would a brilliant book for KS1 and early KS3 and will challenge children to look past the text and place the pictures at the front of their minds. Although the book is set at the beach, children only need to bring their experiences of imagination and ignoring their parents or having parents who aren’t watching. I feel most children would have experienced this at some point!
Overall it was an excellent read and I would highly recommend for others to try.
For a child to be able to read this book they would of course need a basic understanding of reading whilst also the ability to link the words to the pictures. It would a brilliant book for KS1 and early KS3 and will challenge children to look past the text and place the pictures at the front of their minds. Although the book is set at the beach, children only need to bring their experiences of imagination and ignoring their parents or having parents who aren’t watching. I feel most children would have experienced this at some point!
Overall it was an excellent read and I would highly recommend for others to try.
May 30, 2018
This is a humorous little tale of imagination and whimsy, one where the narrative tells a very different story than the pictures do. The pages with narrative mainly depict Shirley's parents set up in chairs on the beach, with her mother nagging (gently reminding) Shirley to do this or not do that, while her father reads the newspaper and falls asleep.
Shirley, in the meantime, has the adventure of a lifetime, and the alternating pages show her battling pirates and searching for buried treasure, a completely wordless story that needs no explanation. While the images seem a bit old fashioned and somewhat rudimentary, it's still an entertaining story and a celebration of a child's creative imagination. We enjoyed reading this book together.
While this book has been around since my own childhood, I don't remember ever reading it before. I discovered it while reading the book 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up and I'm glad that we found this rather unique book.
May 2018 update: I cannot remember what predicated my decision to request them, but I recently got a bunch of books by John Burningham from my 'on hold' list at our local library. I think I was requesting one of his books and then got a bit overeager to read more of them, not really remembering that I'd already read many of them years ago. I am quite over his kind of story. They are entertaining, but only moderately so.
Shirley, in the meantime, has the adventure of a lifetime, and the alternating pages show her battling pirates and searching for buried treasure, a completely wordless story that needs no explanation. While the images seem a bit old fashioned and somewhat rudimentary, it's still an entertaining story and a celebration of a child's creative imagination. We enjoyed reading this book together.
While this book has been around since my own childhood, I don't remember ever reading it before. I discovered it while reading the book 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up and I'm glad that we found this rather unique book.
May 2018 update: I cannot remember what predicated my decision to request them, but I recently got a bunch of books by John Burningham from my 'on hold' list at our local library. I think I was requesting one of his books and then got a bit overeager to read more of them, not really remembering that I'd already read many of them years ago. I am quite over his kind of story. They are entertaining, but only moderately so.
May 10, 2012
This story is about a family going on a day trip to the seaside. Many children can relate to this as they are ecstatic to go to the seaside with their parents. However parents can be boring and this story illustrates this very point. Shirley’s parents have a snooze in their deckchairs while Shirley sets out on an adventure. The left hand side of the book shows what the parents are doing and some text, whereas the right hand side of the book has beautiful illustrations of what Shirley is up to on her adventure. This will give teachers a great opportunity to discuss with the class what they can see happening and develop their own stories form the pictures. It’s a great book for young children.
January 31, 2016
I don't think I could overestimate the significance this book has had on the kinds of books I enjoy sharing with students: arty, humorous and a challenging relationship between image and text. Readers must do some work to make meaning here. It's brilliant and I am sure this book has influenced many authors and illustrators.
Way back in 1990s my class made a book based on the dual stories of Shirley. Half the students wrote and illustrated text about a bored class of children sitting on a mat listening to a teacher rant on and the other half illustrated the story where the same mat was transformed into a flying carpet, zooming off on adventures. Like in the original, we set both stories side by side. It was pretty cool. It might be time to recycle that lesson.
Way back in 1990s my class made a book based on the dual stories of Shirley. Half the students wrote and illustrated text about a bored class of children sitting on a mat listening to a teacher rant on and the other half illustrated the story where the same mat was transformed into a flying carpet, zooming off on adventures. Like in the original, we set both stories side by side. It was pretty cool. It might be time to recycle that lesson.
July 19, 2014
به شدت دوستش داشتم چون خیلی جالب روایت می شه(حتی با این که موضوعش می تونه تکراری باشه اما از همین تکرار به خوبی استفاده کرده)...توصیه های مادر توی یه صفحه و رویاهای دختر فقط از طریق تصویر توی یه صفحه...دختر هیچ حرفی نمی زنه اما ما تصویرای ذهنی اش رو می بینیم...عالی بود این نوع بیان. تصویرگریاش هم واقعی و خوب بود بخصوص ذهنیات دختر.
ترجمه طاهره آدینه پور
انتشارات علمی فرهنگی
ترجمه طاهره آدینه پور
انتشارات علمی فرهنگی
June 10, 2022
Hmm don't know what to say of this book. The whole book is about a nagging dad. Nothing seems to be good what the girl does. Didn't like the drawings, they could have been better. There are better books for kids out there.
April 15, 2018
This is a children's picture book intended for young readers. The book starts off with a family (mom, dad, and daughter) having an outing at the beach and takes us through the boring relaxation of the mundane parents and the exciting and adventurous imagination of their daughter Shirley. The parents completely unaware of the of the imaginations of the daughter pester her about not bringing seaweed home and asking whether she wants a drink. The language is clear and simple with one sentence on every other page. the only pages with words are the ones where the parents are situated and the other pages are the expressions of Shirley's imagination. Not much is going on with the parents' page and the illustrations are plain, with plain colors and very dull. Shirley's page, on the other hand, is filled with color, detail, and a bit of managed chaos. I gave this a three-star rating because even though Shirley had fun at the beach thanks to her imagination, I couldn't quite get the fascination with the contrast in this book. It was O.K. but it wasn't wholly entertaining or interesting.Children might find the contrast a bit appealing but probably not first graders (at least mine didn't). if one were to use this book while working with children you could do an activity that would expound on the contrast between the boring lives of the parents and the adventurous mind of Shirley.
October 2, 2017
I would say Come Away From the Water, Shirley is a great book but the title name is a little too long for my liking. Even talking about it, I would like to use Acronyms. CAFTWS is a story of a girl who goes to the beach with her family and her name is indeed Shirley. Her parents lazily sit on the beach tanning, and not supervising their kid, Shirley. On the left side of the page is where you can see the parents sitting for most of the story and also where you see all the text for the book written.
What is most exciting in this book is actually what is happening on the right side. On the right side, although there is no text. You can see that Shirley does in fact, go in the water. She also is seen getting on a pirate ship, and finding gold. As you read the left side, where Shirley's parents reside and admire the pictures on the right. You realize even thought the text are saying one thing, on the right side of the story Shirley is doing anything she wants. It will excite the reader and have you wanting to find out what happens in the end.
What is most exciting in this book is actually what is happening on the right side. On the right side, although there is no text. You can see that Shirley does in fact, go in the water. She also is seen getting on a pirate ship, and finding gold. As you read the left side, where Shirley's parents reside and admire the pictures on the right. You realize even thought the text are saying one thing, on the right side of the story Shirley is doing anything she wants. It will excite the reader and have you wanting to find out what happens in the end.
February 24, 2017
Shirley and her parents spend the day at the beach. Her parents day perspective is on one side of the page, them sitting in beach chairs and yelling at Shirley to stop doing something. While the other page is Shirley's perspective on the day. She is in her imagination playing with pirates and having fun adventures, then they just go home.
This story has an innovative way of story organization, the story has multiple parts. It has the parents part yelling at her and doing their thing, then the kids perspective imagination her own world. The story also has indeterminacy, it really had no storyline, it was very boring to read and it ended abruptly. Lastly, the stories illustrations interplay was confusing, one side of the page was the parents day and the others was Shirley's so it took us a couple pages to understand what was happening.
This story has an innovative way of story organization, the story has multiple parts. It has the parents part yelling at her and doing their thing, then the kids perspective imagination her own world. The story also has indeterminacy, it really had no storyline, it was very boring to read and it ended abruptly. Lastly, the stories illustrations interplay was confusing, one side of the page was the parents day and the others was Shirley's so it took us a couple pages to understand what was happening.
February 16, 2021
Come Away From The Water, Shirley is a hilarious story about a family’s trip to the beach where the parents spend their time relaxing while their child seeks adventure. The author and illustrator, John Burningham, is able to capture the parents enjoying their beach day speaking to their daughter and not realizing she is out on her own, out at sea, and with pirates. A unique thing about this story is how it is able to show the imagination children create for themselves or how oblivious parents can be. It's up to you to decide.
November 17, 2020
I love how the text and the illustrations in this book tell totally different stories. The adventures that Shirley has with pirates in her imagination are really exciting compared to the day her parents have at the beach. This is conveyed through very different styles of illustration: Shirley's parents are depicted in pale colours with little detail where as Shirley's adventures are show in bright colours and great detail.
January 27, 2022
A simple, but very creative representation of how parents can stop children having fun by limiting their imagination time. Although the topic is not as hard-hitting or poignant as some other children’s books, Come Away From The Water, Shirley provides a fun look at a child’s laugh of pirates and adventure. Having the child’s imagination on the right hand side and the parents reality on the left also creates a juxtaposition throughout the book.
February 16, 2019
In this book the parents quote "Come away from the water, Shirley" but Shirley has already gone off on her adventure! The pages appear to be split between the parents viewpoint and Shirley's viewpoint. The left has the text from the parents with them sat on the beach together, and the right shows the adventure that Shirley is having.
A comical perspective of a family trip to the beach!
A comical perspective of a family trip to the beach!
January 16, 2020
I personally thought the illustrations were a little dull, but they were unique. It is comical how Shirley's parents are very unaware of Shirley's actions as they enjoy their time on the beach. However, I felt as though the illustrations of Shirley told their own story. Through the pictures, you can learn that Shirley essentially became a pirate for a day! It's a cute little adventure.
January 31, 2020
I read this to my students each year... any grade at all. The parents’ dull point of view versus the child’s vivid and adventurous point of view. There are so many ways to use this secret book. Let it inspire a child to draw or write a story from two perspectives, or discuss the deeper lesson possibly suggested by the story. Is imagination important?
Young children just laugh with delight.
Young children just laugh with delight.
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