Born on 23 June 1935, Shirley spent her early childhood in Guernsey (Channel Islands).
[1] She had formal art school training at Sanderson's Furnishings, a textile and wallpaper studio in London.
[3] 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.
She later left the United Kingdom to Australia in 1965[4] with her family, taking on the role as an illustrator for Oxford University Press in Melbourne.
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.