Beloved children's author who wrote over 150 books dies aged 87 – 30 years after first wife died of cancer
Allan Ahlberg produced a host of bestselling nursery classics during a stellar career as an author.
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Allan Ahlberg has died aged 87
Credit: Alamy
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The children's author left behind an incredible legacy
Credit: CLPE
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He worked with his late wife Janet on books together
Some of his most famous work includes lasting favourites Peepo!,, Each Peach Pear Plum and The Jolly Postman.
Allan came to writing in his late thirties, when his wife Janet grew tired of illustrating non-fiction and asked him to write a story for her to illustrate.
Allan later recalled the moment was "as if she turned a key in my back and I was off".
The Ahlbergs went on to produce 37 books together, and Allan also wrote more than 100 others.
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Other notable works from Allan and his wife included The Baby's Catalogue and The Old Joke Book.
Janet sadly died from breast cancer in 1994 but Allan kept up his craft.
Following Janet's death, Allan worked with illustrators such as
Raymond Briggs
and Bruce Ingman.
His career
came full circle in a series of collaborations with his daughter Jessica including Half a Pig and a pop-up set of anarchic variations on the tale of Goldilocks.
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Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, CEO of Walker Books Group, which published some of his books, said: "He was enormously playful in spirit and language and had the ability to make you smile in one sentence.
"Allan inspired generations of children's writers, inspired all of us who worked with him, and inspired artists to make some of their very best work.'
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