‘No one could compete': readers remember the magic of Allan Ahlberg's stories

The Guardian

06-08-2025

'I worked with kids who struggled – this one boy would listen with rapture'
Thirty years ago I was a healthcare assistant working for CAMHS in a major city. It was a brilliant creative job where I worked with primary school kids who were struggling with home and school life. We had one little boy, aged seven, who was a world of chaos, he found it hard to connect with others and he had a tough exterior on show nearly all the time. However, a couple of times a week, we had story time in the library, a quiet and tiny room, and he would always, without fail, come and sit as close to me as he could, and ask very quietly for 'Bogalabol' – Burglar Bill. He would then listen with rapture and delight to the whole story, and join in with his favourite phrases. As he listened, he became a little boy again, taking pleasure in this story with its salt of the earth burglars, and the simple joy of being read to. It remains one of my favourite memories of that time. Of course I read Burglar Bill to my own kids, and I expect I'll read it to any grandchildren I have! Tanya Logan, 53, Frome, Somerset
'I used to do my best Ray Winstone growl when reading'
I loved Burglar Bill. He steals such bonkers stuff, and then he finds – a baby! And eventually true love with Burglar Betty. I used to read it to my kids doing Burglar Bill in my best Ray Winstone growl. They loved it. The books were a great way to introduce my own kids to reading, and later many others when I worked as an English teacher. Esther Pocock, librarian, Sweden
'I still use the letter he wrote to me to this day'
I'm a primary school teacher and about 12 years ago I wrote to Allan Ahlberg with my class. He took care to write a really individual letter back to us, addressing every child's comments (and mine), and he also shared some early drafts of Mrs Wobble the Waitress and some copies of a couple of his new books at the time (Hooray for Bread was one of them). I was really impressed by his generous spirit in replying in such detail, and I still use the letter with classes to this day to say: 'Look, real authors need to re-draft, so you should too!' Luke Stratton, 41, primary school teacher, Coalville, Leicestershire
'On a whim, I texted my 28-year-old daughter the first line and she replied with the next one – and so it went on for 10 minutes'
All of them are favourites – but particularly Each Peach Pear Plum and The Jolly Postman books. On a whim I texted the first line of the former to my 28-year-old daughter the other day. She immediately texted back (while at work I may add) the following line from the book, and so it went on for 10 glorious minutes between us both, word perfect with no cheating, smiling away at our phones. Me – charmed at the way this book has resonated through the years between mother and daughter. She – thrilled with a young child's delight in being clever in remembering it all in the middle of her busy day. It is still the book I buy for all new parents I come across, as I will do for hers as and when she has children of her own. Jayne Stead, retired teacher, York
'My two girls love it'
The wonder of the Ahlbergs' books span generations and they are so detailed, clever and don't talk down to children. [Allan's wife Janet Ahlberg illustrated all his books until her death in 1994.] They are among the few authors I enjoy reading night after night; I received Each Peach Pear Plum from a friend with older children, who wistfully said she could still happily recite it from memory. My two girls love the book. Caroline Haywood, 39, lawyer, Nairobi, Kenya
'My child who was non-verbal until three could still communicate by finding items in the pictures'
With my own child, who was non-verbal until three, books with things to look for such as Peepo! meant they could still communicate by finding items in the pictures. The repetitive nature also meant things could be mimed or signed. Then when speech came the rhymes were fun and they were reading without noticing! Allan Ahlberg's books enriched my teaching and the lives of children I know. Isn't that a special legacy? Kathie, former teacher now works in data protection, St Helens
'No one could compete with the Ahlbergs'
There are so many to choose from but I'd have to opt for Cops and Robbers as it went from mild peril to slapstick comedy and had everything in between. I loved them when I was a kid and when my daughter was little I read her every Janet and Allan Ahlberg book I could get my hands on. We read a lot of books together but no one could compete with the Ahlbergs. They are the greatest children's authors of all time, bar none. Martin Hall, 46, librarian, Frankfurt, Germany
'It helped me as a new parent'
The Baby's Catalogue was introduced to me by an unemployed mother while waiting in a Berkeley unemployment line 40 years ago. Two children later, while waiting in a pediatrician's office I discovered a ratty copy of Burglar Bill on the book pile. The story was so enchanting that I am ashamed to say I nicked it. The Baby Catalogue helped me as a new parent understand that the smallest, mundane parts of a child's day could be beautiful and important to them so to accept it with patience and grace. As for Burglar Bill, my boys didn't turn to a life of crime like their mother. In my defence I've taken good care of the book. Kathy Nilsson, 67, retired, Mountain View, California
'To open his books is to feel a jolt of warmth and home again'
I had all but forgotten about Ahlberg's books until I started working as a children's bookseller. To discover them again, to turn the pages 20 years on from the last time, made me ache for a time and a place long gone. That feeling never leaves me. Peepo! and Each Peach Pear Plum both sit on my son's bookshelves and even though I see the spines every single day, to open them is to feel that jolt of warmth and home again. They are perfection. Funny Bones has now become one of my son's favourite books. People complain it's too long, but how can you not relish getting to linger over those 'dark, dark' lines? Hannah Renowden, 42, page planner, Glasgow