Beloved children’s author Allan Ahlberg dies at 87

LONDON: British writer Allan Ahlberg, author of more than 150 children’s books including classics like “Eat Peach Pear Plum” and “The Jolly Postman,” has died, his publisher said Friday. He was 87.

Penguin Random House said Ahlberg died on Tuesday. It did not give a cause of death.

Ahlberg’s books introduced generations of young children to reading through simple rhymes, sharp observation and gentle humor. Many were co-created with his illustrator wife Janet Ahlberg, who died in 1994.

“Peepo!” (1981) gave a baby’s-eye-view of the world and was interactive in a delightfully analogue way, with peep-holes in the pages to spy the next scenes.

“The Jolly Postman” (1986) was even more inventive, incorporating postcards and letters in envelopes for children to engage with while they followed a letter-carrier delivering mail to fairy tale characters. Penguin Random House said it “pushed at the boundaries of what it is possible for a book to be.”

Ahlberg also wrote books of jokes, including “The Ha Ha Bonk Book,” and poetry for primary school-age children, including “Please Mrs. Butler” and “Heard it in the Playground.”

Born in 1938 and raised by adoptive parents in a working-class home in OIdbury, central England, Ahlberg worked as a “postman, plumber’s mate and grave digger,” according to his publisher, before becoming a teacher. He met Janet at teacher training college and the couple’s first book, “Here are the Brick Street Boys,” was published in 1975.