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Original poster

Allen Ahlberg has died

133 replies

SchnizelVonKrumm · 31/07/2025 19:23

Once upon a time, or so they say,
A jolly postman came one day
From over the hills, and far away

Very sad news.

ETA he was Allan, not Allen.

😥

OP posts:
Starlight40 · 01/08/2025 13:01

EducatingArti · 31/07/2025 20:43

He was a lovely man. Many years ago I was tutoring a student with dyslexia and ASD who was still struggling with learning to read aged 9. His reading started to take off by reading Happy Families books.
This student also had great ideas for stories but struggled with handwriting/ getting things down on paper.
I wrote to Allan Ahlberg to tell him about how much his books had helped this student and sent a copy of a story the student had written .
AA was lovely. He arranged to phone me, spoke to me and advised me about some other slightly more difficult books he had written that this student might like.

Then he wrote to the student with encouragement and advice and sent him a copy of one of his books.

The student was able to catch up with his education over time and has now graduated from university!

How lovely is that? What a lovely man.

WitcheryDivine · 01/08/2025 14:28

There’s a video of him reading Peepo, I always have the way he says “peepo” in my head when reading it to my little girl.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H_3bRQFs7Sc

I read that he was adopted, how wonderful that he was able to bring so much joy to so many other kids.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H_3bRQFs7Sc

PuppyMonkey · 01/08/2025 16:49

RIP Allan. ❤️

Allen Ahlberg has died
Allen Ahlberg has died
Breathmiller · 01/08/2025 17:48

I love this thread. The words from his stories have been going round my head today.

Putting the shopping away with teen ds "that's a lovely looking bunch of bananas - I'll 'ave that" "bogglabul". 🥰

But most of all...

He sees his father sleeping
In the big brass bed
And his mother too with a hairnet on her head.
He sees the shadows moving
On the bedroom wall
And the sun at the window.

And his teddy.

And his ball.

I am transported to a very happy time of reading this to my Dds, who are both now wonderful mothers reading them to their babies.

We are on the third generation of loving these books. I am so heartened to see not only how much love there is for these books but how beautiful to see such collective appreciation for a man of that age that has given so much. A life well lived to have shared so much joy, not just to children but parents and (now) grandparents.

As soneone said before, the Peepo book did feel so familiar to me. The mirror. The pram. The grandma. The washing. The dad getting coal. The Pinnys! The rhythm to the words. The illustrations.

All a little before my own time but rooms like my Granny's house, things round my Gran's kitchen and similar to stories and photographs of my mum's childhood.

Well done AA and thank you.

Fourteenandahalf · 01/08/2025 22:52

My mum thought the witch in each peach pear plum was too scary for me and my sibling, so she glued the pages together.
I found it recently 😂 It doesn't even rhyme now!

MonkeyTennis34 · 01/08/2025 23:21

Bogglabol!!
Such beautiful books.
A lost era.
RIP.

xsquared · 02/08/2025 00:31

Oh, this is very sad. His books were a big part of my childhood. I loved Happy Families, Please Mrs Butler, Woof! and even the Ha Ha Bonk Book!

Our children could recite Each Peach Pear Plum by heart when they were little, and probably still could now.

Rest in peace Allen. You made so many children happy.

Concretejungle1 · 02/08/2025 00:33

boopthatdog · 31/07/2025 20:20

In a dark, dark town there was a dark, dark street
and in the dark, dark street there was a dark, dark house,
and in the dark, dark house there were some dark, dark stairs
and down the dark, dark stairs there was a dark, dark cellar
and in the dark dark cellar….

Three skeletons lived!

I loved Funnybones so much

I still love funnybones to this day.
i can’t ever forget this.

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