Janet and Allan Ahlberg facts for kids

Janet Ahlberg (born 21 October 1944, died 15 November 1994) and Allan Ahlberg (born 5 June 1938) were a British husband and wife team. They created many popular children's books together. Their picture books are often found on "most popular" lists in libraries.

Janet and Allan worked together for 20 years. Allan wrote the stories, and Janet drew the pictures. After Janet passed away in 1994, Allan continued to write books with other artists.

Janet Ahlberg won two special awards called the Kate Greenaway Medal for her illustrations. One of their books, Each Peach Pear Plum, won in 1978. It was even named one of the top ten winning books for the Medal's 50th anniversary! This book is like a fun "I spy" game with characters from Mother Goose stories.

About Janet and Allan

Early Lives

Allan Ahlberg was born on 5 June 1938 in Croydon, England. He was adopted and grew up in Oldbury. He has said that his family didn't have many books or much conversation when he was a child. He even said he was the baby in their book Peepo!

Janet Hall was born on 21 October 1944 in Yorkshire. She grew up in Leicester. Allan and Janet both trained to be teachers at Sunderland Technical College. They met there in the 1960s and got married in 1969.

How They Started Working Together

Their journey into children's books began when Janet asked Allan, who was a primary school teacher, to write a story. Their first three books came out in 1976 and 1977. These included The Old Joke Book, The Vanishment of Thomas Tull, and Burglar Bill.

Their book Each Peach Pear Plum won the 1978 Kate Greenaway Medal. This award is given to the best children's book illustrations by a British artist. Later, for the Medal's 50th birthday, this book was voted one of the nation's favourite winners.

Their Amazing Books

The Jolly Postman Series

One of their most famous books is The Jolly Postman, published in 1986. Allan Ahlberg said it has sold over six million copies! This book was very special because it had real envelopes inside. These envelopes held letters, cards, games, and even a tiny book.

Imagine a postman delivering mail to fairy-tale characters like the Big Bad Wolf or Cinderella! You can take out each letter and read it. It took five years to create The Jolly Postman. It won many awards, including the Kurt Maschler Award.

They also made two more books in this series:

• The Jolly Christmas Postman (1991) – Janet won her second Greenaway Medal for this one.
• The Jolly Pocket Postman (1995)

Other Popular Books

The Ahlbergs created many popular books for different ages.

• For babies and toddlers, they wrote books like Peepo! and The Baby's Catalogue.
• For older children, they wrote stories such as Burglar Bill, Cops and Robbers, and Funnybones.
• They also created the Happy Families series.
• Allan wrote two books of poems, Heard it in the Playground and Please, Mrs Butler, which Janet illustrated.
• He also wrote longer books like Woof!.

Life After Janet

Janet Ahlberg passed away from breast cancer in November 1994. She was 50 years old. Their daughter, Jessica, was 14 at the time.

Allan later married his editor, Vanessa Clarke. As of 2017, Allan has written over 150 books. His daughter, Jessica, has also become a picture book artist. She illustrated two of his books in 2004. Father and daughter worked together again on a special movable book called The Goldilocks Variations in 2012. It's a new take on an old fairy tale!

Allan Ahlberg is a big fan of West Bromwich Albion F.C., a football team. He grew up near their hometown.

Their Legacy and Recognition

Janet Ahlberg was not only a two-time Greenaway Medal winner. She was also highly praised for other books. These included Burglar Bill (1977), The Baby's Catalogue (1982), and The Jolly Postman (1986). Allan has shared that their daughter Jessica inspired The Baby's Catalogue and The Jolly Postman. He also said his own book, The Boyhood of Burglar Bill, is based on his childhood.

Allan Ahlberg has talked about their work and Janet's life on a radio show called Desert Island Discs.

From July to September 2011, there was a special exhibition celebrating Janet and Allan's work. It was held at The Public arts centre in Sandwell, near Allan's hometown. The exhibition even included art by schoolchildren inspired by their stories.

Books by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Here are some of the many wonderful books Janet and Allan created together:

• Brick Street Boys (Collins, 1975) — five books in this series
• The Old Joke Book (Kestrel, 1976)
• Burglar Bill (Heinemann, 1977)
• Jeremiah in the Dark Woods (Kestrel, 1977)
• The Vanishment of Thomas Tull (Black, 1977)
• Cops and Robbers (Heinemann, 1978)
• Each Peach Pear Plum (Kestrel, 1978)
• The One and Only Two Heads (Collins, 1979)
• Son of a Gun (Heinemann, 1979)
• The Little Worm Book (Granada, 1979)
• Two Wheels Two Heads (Collins, 1979)
• Funny Bones (Heinemann, 1980)
• A Pair of Sinners (Granada, 1980)
• Happy Families (Puffin, 1980)
• Peepo! (also called Peek-A-Boo! in the US) (Kestrel, 1981)
• The Ha Ha Bonk Book (Kestrel, 1982)
• Help Your Child to Read (Granada, 1982)
• The Baby's Catalogue (Kestrel, 1982)
• Ditto Frieze (1982)
• Ten in a Bed (Granada, 1983)
• Please Mrs Butler (Kestrel, 1983)
• Daisy Chains (Heinemann, 1983)
• Yum Yum (Viking, 1984)
• Playmates (Viking, 1984)
• Foldaways (Viking, 1984)
• Red Nose Readers (Walker, 1985)
• Woof (Viking, 1986)
• The Cinderella Show (Viking, 1986)
• The Jolly Postman (Heinemann, 1986)
• The Clothes Horse and Other Stories (Viking, 1987)
• The Mighty Slide (Viking, 1988)
• Starting School (Viking, 1988)
• Heard it in the Playground (Viking, 1989)
• Bye Bye Baby (Heinemann, 1989)
• Funny Bones Early Readers (Heinemann, 1990)
• The Jolly Christmas Postman (Heinemann, 1991)
• The Bear Nobody Wanted (Viking, 1992)
• Mrs. Butler Songbook (Viking, 1992)
• It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (Viking, 1993)
• The Giant Baby (Viking, 1994)
• The Jolly Pocket Postman (1995)

The The Baby's Catalogue series also has American Board Book editions from 1998:

• Baby Sleeps (1998)
• Blue Buggy (1998)
• Doll and Teddy (1998)
• See the Rabbit (1998)

Books Written by Allan Ahlberg

Allan Ahlberg has written many books on his own, often with other illustrators.

• Mr. Cosmo the Conjurer (1980)
• Please Mrs. Butler (1983)
• Woof! (1986)
• The Cinderella Show (1986)
• Heard it in the Playground (1989)
• The Giant Baby (1994)
• The Better Brown Stories (1995)
• The Night Train (1996)
• Janet's Last Book (1997)
• The Snail House (2000)
• Friendly Matches (2001)
• My Brother's Ghost (2001)
• The Man Who Wore All His Clothes (2001)
• The Adventures of Bert (2001), illustrated by Raymond Briggs
• The Woman who Won Things (2002)
• The Improbable Cat (2002)
• A Bit More Bert (2002), illustrated by Raymond Briggs
• Half a Pig (2004), illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg
• The Boy, the Wolf, the Sheep and the Lettuce: A Little Search for Truth??? (2004), illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg
• The Runaway Dinner (2006)
• The Boyhood of Burglar Bill (2007) — a story about football after a war
• Previously (2007)
• The Pencil (2008)
• The Baby in the Hat (2008)
• Everybody Was a Baby Once and Other Poems (2010)
• Goldilocks Variations (2012), illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg
• Hooray for Bread (2014)