Janet and Allan Ahlberg

the seventeen million books of Janet and Allan Ahlberg
It is very much home ground to
Allan, having met Janet on the
last bus home from college in
Sunderland where they were,
according to him, ‘pretending to
be teachers’. They found they
had complementary talents – he
liked writing stories, she liked
illustrating. A perfect match.
‘J
anet and Allan Ahlberg were
to children’s books what
Ginger and Fred were to
dancing’. (The Guardian) A
neat summing up the extraordinary
talents of Janet and Allan, a
partnership which sadly ended with
Janet’s premature death in 1994. But
a wonderful collection of her work
remains – a fraction of which is
celebrated in a magnificent
exhibition
at
the
equally
magnificent 7 Stories, The Centre
for Children’s Books in Newcastle.
“But who came up with the
idea for a book?” I asked him.
“The titles and structures were
perhaps me, rather than Janet,
but that was probably due to
the fact that she was always working on a book and it took her
much longer. Meanwhile, I’m sitting around thinking of the
next book. I would take an idea to her; we would talk - it was
always the one that she enthused about that got done. She
almost always agreed.”
Allan Ahlberg
There you can find ghosts, gorillas, bandits and babies rubbing
shoulders with a jolly postman, a wobbling waitress and, well, a
Thingy! Chatting with Allan in 7 Stories bookshop, I learned
that putting the exhibition together had been a challenge, both
from a professional as well as an emotional point of view. And
how on earth did he start choosing material? “It was the finding
of a structure. I wanted to make an exhibition about books, not
art work.” he said. “Janet and I were book makers. What we
made were printed, bound objects, not pictures to hang on a
wall, not a typed manuscript.” He wanted to offer a series of
chapters, each focusing on a particular aspect of their books so
he sifted and sifted again – perhaps three or four times until a
selection was finally chosen. The exhibition itself not only
highlights Janet’s art work and Allan’s words but the inspiration
behind their books such as artefacts, toys, family photographs –
all of which are in a delightful child-friendly setting
The Ahlbergs were strict task
masters as anyone privileged
to work with them knew!
They oversaw every part of the
publishing process. “In the old
days – the 1970s – we’d get
ourselves to the printers
(Norfolk or Suffolk, usually,
luckily not Hong Kong) at 6 in
the morning and watch the
sheets come rolling off the
presses and groan and moan
and get it as right as we could.
We’d haggle with publishers, The Ahlberg toys
for better paper, better blurbs,
smaller bar-codes – anything and everything. If it was in the
book, a part of the book, we watched over it.”
Some of their most successful books were, to my surprise,
written before the birth of their daughter Jessica. “We didn’t
have any children for the first ten years of our marriage. We
made a few books – Each Peach Pear Plum, Peepo, before Jess.
You follow your instincts and make the best books that you
can.” But the end result was always perfect – as you’ll see when
you visit and find not only the main exhibition, but the Engine
Room where children can ‘work’ in the Jolly Postman’s Post
Office, weigh parcels, fill in forms from a driving licence to a
marriage licence! Fancy strutting your stuff on the stage? Then
there’s a miniature one there too.
But the central joy is the exhibition itself taking visitors on a
journey through the chapters of the Ahlbergs’ collaboration
together. Wandering around, you’ll find many reminders of
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well-loved books. There’s Burglar Bill. “Janet drew the curtains
for the Burglar Bill cover when she was 7! Without knowing it,
she drew the same curtains so many years later.” And a case full
of battered toys – the rabbit, a teddy, all lovingly kept until
reunited here. Listen to Allan reading and yes, singing his
marvellous poems through the listening posts, watch a video or
sit in plush splendour on the settee watching more clips. And
remember the Ha Ha Bonk Book? Try inventing your own jokes
to rival Allan’s groan-making ones – example: “Where do
policeman live?” Answer: “Letsby Avenue..”
I had to ask Alan if he had a favourite amongst their work. After
some thought he decided on Bye Bye Baby. “The art work is so
delicate and loose. I liked that and Janet did too. Or then again
perhaps it’s The Jolly Pocket Postman. Ridiculously convoluted
piece ending with a little book which provides an alternative to
the book!’
And now his great pride is daughter Jessica inheriting her
parents’ talents. She helped produce the delightful tiny book
which is available for visitors to this exhibition. She’s already
illustrated one of Allan’s books and is now working on writing
and illustrating her own. Meeting her again after many years, I
recalled an anxious phone call from Janet in the late 80s asking
if I thought Edinburgh was a good place for a couple of twelveyear-olds to busk. As the city’s pavements are awash with
entertainers at Festival time, I assured her that they would be
fine. They were, and a tenner was collected from their musical
efforts. Unknown to them, mum and dad were keeping an eye
on them from around the corner!
At the opening party, many people from the publishing world
paid tribute to this special partnership including Judith Elliott,
on whose desk at Heinemann landed the tiny-mock-up of The
Jolly Postman in 1985. She recalled her excitement and how
colleagues gathered round to see what the fuss was about! She
spoke of their rare talent – the “economy of line, a poet’s sense
of cadence and rhythm. Their perfect understanding of what
children want and of a life now vanished but which they
recreated in loving details such as in Peepo. And their books
were fun.”
“Making a children’s book is a curious business”, reflected
Allan, “you treat a little thing (32 page paperback for a toddler)
as though it were a big thing (War and Peace). I sometimes felt
we were like candyfloss makers – finest ingredients though and
no e-numbers. I saw us striving might and main – to blow soap
bubbles”. Those bubbles are everlasting and will continue to
enchant and delight generations of readers to come.
Valerie Bierman
7 Stories is open 7 days. Admission charges apply (concessions
and season tickets available) The cafe and wonderful bookshop
can be visited at any time, free of charge. Situated in Lime Street
about 15 minutes by taxi from Central Station, parking is
available in nearby streets. Telephone 0845 271 0777 or visit the
web site: www.sevenstories.org.uk
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Carousel No.33 June 2006