Reasons why I love Judith Kerr

Judith Kerr, childrens author, dies aged 95

It’s with a heavy heart I write this, as the legend Judith Kerr has sadly passed away. My favourite book of hers was The Tiger who Came to Tea for its beautiful drawings, simple yet heartwarming story and for making me wonder if supermarkets really did stock Tiger food….

(c) Judith Kerr/ BookTrust

Judith Kerr- The woman behind the stories

Born in 1923, Kerr grew up in Berlin. She was forced to leave and escape the growing rise of Nazism. This time of her life had a profound effect on her of course and she even wrote about it in the book When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. This book presents the horrors of that time so strongly and so simply, through the eyes of a child, that it’s one of the strongest images I have about that time. I can’ even begin to imagine what it would have been like to have written that story – to share your most raw memories with the world. Thankfully, she did and others can learn from it, share it and vow that it never happens again.

(c) Judith Kerr

The Tiger Who Came To Tea

Judith Kerr  is well known for her picture books of course.  My all time favourite is The Tiger Who Came To Tea. For years after reading this, I would wander around supermarkets for my mum trying to find tiger food. When the tiger knocks at the door….when he eats them out of house and home, then they go for tea at a local cafe….LOVE IT ALL!

And how apt is this final page from that book today? For another apt image, just take a look at Mog…I still tear up when I read this…

(c) Judith Kerr

Mog

Bless this cat! Mog was the most accident-prone cat ever. It was lovely when Mog became a star of the Sainsbury’s ad on TV, and I still have the battered old copies from my own childhood I will never give away. I might even have bought a Mog toy cat.

I was so lucky to meet this lady at a literary event a few years ago and I have never felt more nervous! What did I do? Just smile and mumble ‘thank you for the tiger’ and she smiled and said she loved writing it. I bought an edition that day which she signed. I will treasure that for ever. The moment and the book.

Thank you Judith for all the memories, stories and hugs at bedtime with your characters. I shall go to a supermarket today and check the pet food aisle again…just in case…..

Susan Booktrailer

There’s a wonderful archive exhibition on at Seven Stories Newcastle.

Visit the exhibition here: Judith Kerr and Seven Stories