Saturday 23 April 2016

"Burglar Bill" By Janet & Allan Ahlberg (published by Puffin Books, Penguin Books Ltd, London 1999 - originally published in 1977 by William Heinemann Ltd) - Part 3



Allan Alhlberg (b.1938) and Janet Ahlberg (1944-1994) created dozens of children's picture books - many considered classic now. They still enjoy high sales to this day and they are among the most borrowed picture books from public libraries! "Burglar Bill" came a  year before "Each Peach Pear Plum (1978) - that won the Kate Greenaway Medal of that year from the British Library Association. Some of the many titles that followed are: "Cops And Robbers"(1978), "Peepo!"(1981), "The Baby's Catalogue"(1982), "Please Mr Butler"(1983), "Woof"(1986) and their biggest seller "The Jolly Postman"(1986).

This book is just so brilliant in so many ways. The characters are great, the story is really funny and full of twists while the illustrations are so well executed and laid out. There is a lot of careful planning and designing in the compositions as well as the pacing of the story. With so many objects and narratives going on in every page you could read through it again and again and find something different each time! Here's a small biography on Janet Ahlberg who sadly died at the age of 50 in 1994: https://www.waterstones.com/author/janet-ahlberg/50385 




Friday 8 April 2016

Wednesday 6 April 2016