Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Allan Ahlberg was born on 5 June 1938 in Croydon. An illegitimate child, he was adopted and brought up in Oldbury, in Sandwell in the West Midlands. Janet Hall was born on 21 October 1944 in Yorkshire and brought up in Leicester. Their joint work began when she asked him, a primary school teacher, to write a story. The Jolly Postman required five years to make, and much discussion with Heinemann and the printer before it was issued in 1986. It won many awards including the Kurt Maschler Award for integrated writing and illustration. He died at age 87 on 29 July 2025. ==Recognition==

Besides the two Greenaway Medals, Janet Ahlberg was a "Commended" runner up three times, for Burglar Bill (1977), ''The Baby's Catalogue (1982), and The Jolly Postman'' (1986). Allan Ahlberg appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 14 November 2008. He described their work together, her illness and death, and the creation of ''Janet's Last Book''. In July 2014, Allan Ahlberg declined the (inaugural) Booktrust Best Book Awards 'Lifetime Achievement Award' (which has a 5000 GBP prize attached). He cited ethical grounds related to the award's principal sponsor Amazon.com. In a letter to The Bookseller he stated that "Booktrust does good work and has a well-deserved reputation ... For my part, the idea that my "lifetime achievement" — i.e. the books (and all of Janet's work too) — should have the Amazon tag attached to it is unacceptable." He also sat on the Council of the Society of Authors. ==Selected works==

By Janet and Allan Ahlberg Bookseller World mentions about 80 "UK First Editions Books" by Janet and Allan. Five series comprise more than 40 books, none published by Kestrel or Viking; 35 singletons include eight published by Kestrel (a Viking imprint) from 1976 to 1983, and 12 published by Viking from 1984 to 1994. • Peepo! (also released as Peek-A-Boo! in a US version) (Kestrel, 1981, ) • The Ha Ha Bonk Book (Kestrel, 1982, ) • Fast frog and friends: Help Your Child to Read Collection (Granada, 1982, ) • ''The Baby's Catalogue'' (Kestrel, 1982, ) • Ten in a Bed (Granada, 1983, ) • Please Mrs Butler (Kestrel, 1983, ) • Daisy Chains series (Heinemann/Egmont, 1983) • Which Witch? () • Ready Teddy Go! () • Yum Yum (Viking, 1984, ) • Playmates, a slot book (Viking, 1984, ) • Zoo: Foldaway Books (Viking, 1984, ) • Happy Worms (Red Nose Readers) (Walker, 1985, ) • Woof! (Viking, 1986, ) • The Cinderella Show (Viking, 1986, ) • The Jolly Postman (Heinemann, 1986, ) • Hooray for Bread (2014, ) By Janet and Allan Ahlberg in French • Le livre de tous les écoliers (Gallimard Jeunesse, 2002, ) ==See also==