Shirley Barber is a third-generation artist and learnt designing at Sanderson textile and wallpaper studios in London, and was awarded an "art in industry"
bursary at the age of 18. During her time there, she mainly did "floral and berry nature work", which reflects her own illustrations in her books later on in life. She later left the
United Kingdom to Australia in 1965 with her family, taking on the role as an illustrator for
Oxford University Press in Melbourne. Throughout her time there, she also made fairy pictures that she sold at craft markets. Barber was 55 when she took her second rendition of "Martha B. Rabbit" to
Penguin and instead was recommended to try the publisher
Five Mile Press. Barber's first book "Martha B. Rabbit: the Fairies' Cook" was published by Memory Press (an imprint of Five Mile Press) in the 1980's, Barber's family still own the original first draft. Her first book received a special mention in the international
Bologna Children's Book Fair picture book awards. In 2012, she resumed her relationship with the publisher Brolly Brooks, as she first worked for them during her time at Five Mile Press. Her books have been published with them ever since, with Brolly Brooks announcing a statement to confirm the author's death at age 88 in 2023. == Works ==