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Janet  Hall  was  born  on  21st  October  1944  and  brought  up  in  Leicester.

Allan  Ahlberg  was  born  on  5th  June  1938  in  Croydon.  His  family  were  very  poor.

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Janet  and  Allan  met  when  they  both  enrolled  in  a  teacher  training  college  in  Sunderland.  

Janet  started  illustrating  children’s  books  in  1972.  Their  joint  work  began  in  1976,  when  Janet  asked  Allan  to  write  a  story.

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Janet  and  Allan’s  Mirst  published  books  were  The  Old  Joke  Book,  The  Vanishment  of  Thomas  Tull  and  Burglar  Bill.

Janet  won  the  Kate  Greenaway  Medal  in  1978  for  Each  Peach  Pear  Plum.

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The  Ahlbergs’  greatest  success  was  The  Jolly  Postman.  It  was  Mirst  published  in  1986  and  has  sold  over  six  million  copies!

The  Jolly  Postman  was  considered  to  be  very  innovative  at  the  time,as  it  used  actual  envelopes,  containing  letters  and  cards.

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The  Jolly  Christmas  Postman  earned  Janet  her  second  Greenaway  award  and  the  Jolly  Pocket  Postman  wasalso  produced  later.

The  Ahlbergs  went  on  to  produce  books  for  babies  and  toddlers,  including  Peepo!  and  The  Baby’s  Catalogue.

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For  older  children,  they  followed  their  earlier  success  with  the  Funnybones  and  Happy  Famillies  series.  Allan  also  wrote  the  poetry  book  Please,  Mrs  Butler.

Sadly,  Janet  Ahlberg  died  of  breast  cancer  in  1994.  Allan  wished  they  had  not  been  so  busy  and  gone  on  a  family  holiday  together.  

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Allan  has  now  had  over  one  hundred  and  forty  books  published!

Allan  and  Janet’s  daughter  Jessica  is  now  an  illustrator,  like  her  mum.  She  has  illustrated  some  of  Allan’s  books!

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In  2012  Allan  and  Jessica  collaborated  on  a  movable  picture  book  called  The  Goldilocks  Variation.

Allan  writes  his  children’s  books  in  his  garden  shed.

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Allan  insists  on  taking  an  afternoon  nap  every  day.  He  puts  his  pyjamas  on  and  gets  into  bed  for  a  snooze.  

Allan  supports  West  Bromwich  Albion  Football  Club.

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Allan’s  hobbies  include  reading,  listening  to  music,  running,  swimming,  going  to  the  cinema  and  talking  to  his  cat.  

In  2014  Allan  turned  down  the  Book  Trust  Lifetime  Achievement  Award  because  he  was  unhappy  with  the  company  that  sponsored  it.

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