Sophie usually had tea with Mummy in the kitchen in the days when only fathers went out to work. One day, there was a ring at the door. The unexpected guest was a very large, furry tiger with a gigantic appetite who ate everything in sight, including Daddy’s supper. Judith Kerr, born in Berlin, who fled Nazi Germany with her family as a child, wrote and illustrated The Tiger Who Came to Tea in 1968. The delightful story, with its hint of anarchy, has enchanted millions of children ever since, selling more than a million copies.
Now Ms Kerr has produced her first children’s book in nearly four decades. Mister Cleghorn’s Seal, published in September, aimed at older children, tells the story of a gentleman who rescues a baby seal named Charlie. Ms Kerr has dedicated the book to her father, Alfred Kerr, a Jewish intellectual who was critical of the Nazis. Kerr says her father would bring back objects from his travels, including a small, stuffed seal that he kept on his balcony.
Imagination and memory are extraordinarily resilient. Ms Kerr is 92 and her abilities remain undiminished. Michelangelo wrote poetry in his 80s. The folk artist Grandma Moses was painting at the age of 100. Thankfully, talent is immune to the ageism rampant in society. As a result, we all – young and old – enjoy the fruits of such veteran inspiration.
