Allan Ahlberg 1938-2025

Image Source: The Daily Telegraph 6th Sept 2013

This morning I read the sad news that we had lost one of our most amazing and talented literary giants of the children's book world - Allan Ahlberg. I have read and loved so many of his books and I had heaps of them in all of my former school libraries. He wrote over 150 books and they cover such a range from books to gift a new baby, books for todders, books for children learning to read, picture books for all ages, poetry, fiction books and adult titles too. Do you remember his joke book - The Ha Ha Bonk Book?  I can only give you a tiny glimpse here into his enormous contribution to the field of children's literature and also to the joy and great delight his books give to children. 

I think I can say many other children's book authors and illustrators have 'stood on the shoulders' of Allan and his late wife Janet - think of books like Peepo and The Jolly Postman. 

Quote from Allan Ahlberg Daily Telegraph 2013: Peepo! Peepo! was set in wartime, which made the publisher very nervous. She worried that little children wouldn’t make sense of things such as barrage balloons that were in the illustrations but not in the story. But I think it’s a mistake to think that a book for little children has to be like a glass of water so that every single element in it is accessible and clear and understood by a three-year-old. If they don’t understand something, they will ask.

Shirley Hughes (speaking to Puffin Books) said this about Allan Ahlberg: Allan and Janet Ahlberg’s picture book partnership burst upon the children’s book world like an exhilarating, life-enhancing breath of fresh air. Allan’s writing style is a combination of fine, highly skilled wordplay and a relaxed, brilliantly accessible storyline, full of his unique sense of humour. He and Janet played off one another with an unforgettable interplay of talent, essentially English yet worldwide in its appeal. It was a duo that, one can only say, was made in heaven.

Illustration from Each Peach Pear Plum

A few personal memories:

In the early 1980s Allan Ahlberg visited Australia! Are you amazed? My memories of this are only tiny fragments - I remember the location was an old library building possibly in North Sydney. The audience was quite small, and I remember he had dark hair. I am wondering if his publisher (possibly Walker Books) bought him to Australia - OH those were the days when international authors and illustrators of children's books came here.

Do you know the books The Vanishment of Thomas Tull and Jeremiah in the Dark woods - this might be because I read them to you - I read both of these books to hundreds of children in four different school libraries. I can still recite parts of both of them by heart.

I used to collect children's games that linked with books. One card game I had was based on Cops and Robbers. You can read more about this book here. 

Sophie Henn said: Cops and Robbers was one of my absolute favourites when I was little and I am delighted to say I still love it now. I think it ignited my love of both crime dramas and cross-section illustrations! As this hilarious caper joyously bounces along, the Robbers are threatening Christmas, which is about as bad as it gets for a four-year-old, and Ahlberg doesn’t shy away from their obvious love of villainy! I think we tend to stay away from the darker side of life with picture books these days, but as Roald Dahl said, your villains can do the most awful things as long as there is justice in the end. And our Robbers certainly get their comeuppance, thanks to heroic PC Pugh, of the Coppers, who puts everything right in time for Christmas and without coming across as pious or goody-goody. Genius! Janet Ahlberg’s detailed cross-sections and images packed with visual gags build on the exhilarating pace and rhythm of the story. And I DO love a tale with an open ending. What happened to Grandma Swagg? We may never know… Ho! Ho!

In my former library I had a set of fifteen copies of The Jolly Postman - inevitably they would be returned with all the letters jumbled and so my library monitors would have a 'fun' task of sorting all the letters back into their little envelopes so each book was once again complete.

I had a teacher in my previous school who always loved (and used) the poem Scissors (read here by Allan Ahlberg) from the book Please Mrs Butler. And yes this teacher was very, very pedantic about the scissors in his classroom along with pencils, clipboards, rulers, and so many more things. It was the perfect poem. You can hear Allan reading more poems here. Other poetry books by Allan Ahlberg are Everybody Was a Baby Once: and Other Poems; Collected Poems illustrated by Charlotte Voake; and Heard It in the Playground. I always wanted to see a copy of Mrs. Butler Songbook.

I often quote lines in my mind from Each Peach Pear Plum - it is a rhyme that has just stuck in my brain. "Each peach pear plum I spy Tom Thumb ... Cinderella on the stairs I spy the three bears." And I have gifted this book and Peepo to nearly every new baby born into the families of my friends. I even have a couple of copies in my present book stash ready for the next new arrival. 

One of my all-time favourite read aloud books is Jeremiah in the Dark woods because you just have to read it with voices. I especially enjoy 'performing' the voice of the crocodile. I have put a link to my two blog posts about this book below. AND I used to read this and then give each of the children a small jam tart to eat - I guess you couldn't do that now.

Every Kindergarten child in my school library listened to (and joined in) with the book Bye Bye Baby - a sad story with a happy ending. 

Among the most treasured books in my school libraries were the tiny Red Nose Readers books - funny, terrific illustrations and just perfect for little children learning to read. These were real books not readers!

Andre Amstutz illustrated the Happy Families books and also the series Fast Fox, Slow Dog - Chicken Chips and Peas; Slow Dog Falling; and The Hen House. These were also perfect for very young children just learning to read. He also illustrated The Funny Bones books:

Here is a comment from Facebook: Thank you, Mr Ahlberg for all the magic, all the story dreaming. 

In 1975, the Ahlbergs published their first book together, Here are the Brick Street Boys. That was swiftly followed by The Old Joke Book, Burglar Bill and Each Peach Pear Plum, for which Janet was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustrators in 1978. The Jolly Postman, which was published in 1991, won the Kurt Maschler Award. The second in the series, The Jolly Christmas Postman (1991), won a second Kate Greenaway Medal. Janet Ahlberg died in 1994. I found a video of Allan Ahlberg talking about his book The Goldilock which are variations on the story illustrated with his daughter Jessica. Working with his daughter he also wrote The Boy, the Wolf, the Sheep and the Lettuce and Half a Pig. 

Here is the Kirkus Star review

Quote from the 2013 Daily Telegraph by Allan Ahlberg: I have a small talent and I get paid an arm and a leg for it. More than half of the books that I have written are out of print or barely earned their advance – some of the ones I really liked – and a few of them have stayed in print for 30 or 40 years and have paid for everything. It’s all luck, really. If I had stayed in my little terraced house in Leicestershire, I could have lived off Each Peach Pear Plum for the rest of my life.

Here are my blog posts which explore books by Allan Ahlberg:

• Jeremiah in the Dark Woods by Allan Ahlberg illustrated by Janet Ahlberg (post 2023)
• Jeremiah in the dark woods by Janet and Allan Ahlberg (original post)
• The vanishment of Thomas Tull by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
• Bye Bye Baby by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
• The Improbable Cat by Allan Ahlberg illustrated by Peter Bailey
• The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
• The Clothes Horse and other Stories by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
• The man who wore all his clothes by Alan Ahlberg illustrated by Katharine McEwen
• Baby on Board by Allan Ahlberg illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

Source of book lists Fantastic Fiction:

Novels

•    Woof! (1974)
•    The Vanishment of Thomas Tull (1977)
•    Son of a Gun (1979) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    The Ha Ha Bonk Book (1982)
•    Fast Frog and Friends (1984)
•    The Giant Baby (1994)
•    The Night Train (1996)
•    My Brother's Ghost (2000)
•    The Improbable Cat (2002)
•    The Cat Who Got Carried Away (2003)
•    The Boy, the Wolf, the Sheep and the Lettuce (2004)
•    The Boyhood of Burglar Bill (2007)

Collections

•    Please Mrs. Butler (poems) (1983)
•    The Clothes Horse (1987) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    The Mighty Slide (poems) (1988)
•    Ten in a Bed (1989)
•    Heard It in the Playground (poems) (1989)
•    The Better Brown Stories (1995)
•    The Mysteries of Zigomar (poems) (1997)
•    The Puffin Book of Five-minute Stories (1998) (with others)
•    Friendly Matches (poems) (2001)
•    Collected Poems (poems) (2008)
•    Funnybones (2010)
•    Everybody Was a Baby Once (poems) (2010)

Picture Books 

•    The Pet Shop (1969)
•    Here Are the Brick Street Boys (1975)
•    A Place to Play (1975)
•    Sam the Referee (1975)
•    Make a Face (1976)
•    Fred's Dream (1976) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Big Bad Pig (1976)
•    Burglar Bill (1977) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Jeremiah in the Dark Woods (1977) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Cops and Robbers (1978) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    The Little Worm Book (1979) I mention this book here.
•    The One and Only Two Heads (1979)
•    Two Wheels Two Heads (1979)
•    Treasure Hunt (1980)
•    A Pair Of Sinners (1980)
•    Dinosaur Dreams (1980)
•    The Great Marathon Football Match (1981)
•    123 First Counting Book (1981)
•    Peepo! (1981) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    The Baby's Catalogue (1982)
•    King Kangaroo (1983)
•    Mr. Wolf (1983)
•    Tell-Tale Tiger (1983)
•    Each Peach Pear Plum (1984) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Yum Yum (1984)
•    Happy Worm (1985)
•    Help! (1985)
•    The Cinderella Show (1986) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Push the Dog (1986)
•    Shirley's Shops (1986)
•    Blow Me Down! (1986)
•    One, Two, Flea! (1986)
•    Tell Us a Story (1986)
•    Jolly Postman (1986)
•    Bear's Birthday (1987)
•    Jumping (1987)
•    The Old Joke Book (1987)
•    The Shopping Expedition (1987)
•    So Can I (1987)
•    Starting School (1988) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    The Worm Book (1989) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Bye Bye Baby (1989) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Fee Fi Fo Fum (1990)
•    The Black Cat (1990)
•    Mystery Tour (1990)
•    The Jolly Christmas Postman (1991) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Skeleton Crew (1992)
•    The Bear Nobody Wanted (1992) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Bumps in the Night (1993)
•    Give the Dog a Bone (1993)
•    It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (1993) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Who Stole the Pie? (1995)
•    The Jolly Pocket Postman (1995) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Peek-a-boo (1997) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Baby Sleeps (1998) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Doll and Teddy (1998) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    See the Rabbit (1998) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Monkey Do! (1998)
•    Mockingbird (1998)
•    Shine a Light (1998) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Blue Buggy (1999) (with Janet Ahlberg)
•    Chicken, Chips and Peas (1999)
•    The Hen House (1999)
•    Slow Dog Falling (1999)
•    Fast Fox Goes Crazy (1999)
•    The Bravest Ever Bear (1999)
•    Storytime Giants (2000)
•    The Snail House (2000)
•    Grandma Fox (2000)
•    The Mother Hen Mysteries (2001)
•    The Man Who Wore All His Clothes (2001)
•    The Adventures of Bert (2001) (with Raymond Briggs)
•    Chickens in the Snow (2001)
•    The Woman Who Won Things (2002)
•    Miaow! (2002)
•    A Bit More Bert (2002) (with Raymond Briggs)
•    The Little Cat Baby (2003)
•    Half a Pig (2004)
•    The Children Who Smelled a Rat (2005)
•    The Runaway Dinner (2006)
•    Previously (2007)
•    The Pencil (2008)
•    The Baby in the Hat (2008)
•    Baby Sleeps Buggy Book (2010) 
•    Goldilocks (2012)
•    Hooray for Bread! (2013)
•    Kicking a Ball (2014)
•    Alison Hubble (2016)
•    The Ghost Train (2017)
•    My Worst Book Ever (2018)
•    Baby on Board (2018)
•    Under the Table (2023)

His first book for adults was The Bucket, about his childhood in a Black Country town in the 1940s. A few years ago my friend showed me her precious copy of Janet's Last Book [9780140268720] written as a tribute to his wife. 

In 2024 his latest book Under the Table was published.

Bookseller blurb: What do you do when you're having an ordinary day, only to discover there's a big gray elephant (named Nathaniel) under the table? Why, you get him to help you wash the car And the kangaroo (named Abigail) that appears under that same table can help bring in groceries. But when there are penguins in the fridge, the forks and knives are running around, and the salt and ketchup are acting up, there is only one thing to do: pack everyone in the camper and go on vacation With a wink and a nod, Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman reunite for another wry, comical, zany adventure starring the family introduced in The Runaway Dinner and The Pencil.

There were other people aside from Janet, who illustrated books by Allan Ahlberg. Bruce Ingram did these books above and he talks about another book they did together called My Worst Book ever. You can see inside this book here. 

Colin McNaughton wrote on Facebook: My old friend Allan Ahlberg died yesterday. ... My inspiration. I served my apprenticeship under him. ('Red Nose Readers' - 24 books.) He taught me how to write children's picture books. He showed me the subtleties of the craft/art of talking to children. We made 30 odd picture books together. I knew him when he was with the beautiful Janet who died so tragically in her 50's. A brilliant illustrator. A mark-maker without peer. They were a team. A partnership - a phenomenon in the world of children's books. They created 'classics' time and time again. Then Janet died. Time passed and happily he met Vanessa! A beautiful and lovely human being. They became a great team. He continued to write weird and wonderful stories and the dreaded Parkinson's didn't stop him. He kept creating magic until the end. RIP mon ami.

Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominees for 2026

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to creators of children’s books whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature. The Author's Award has been given since 1956 and the Illustrator's Award since 1966. The Award consists of a gold medal and a diploma, presented at a ceremony during the biennial IBBY World Congress which in 2026 will be held in Ottawa, Canada. 

At the end of the nomination period on 15 February 2025, 78 candidates from 44 countries were confirmed as nominees to the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Awards. Among these, 41 are nominated in the Writing category and 37 are nominated in the Illustration category. This is in an unprecedented volume of candidates and the highest-ever number of participating countries. 

I will pen a post with more details about many of these fabulous book creators over the coming weeks. 

Here are a few names for you to investigate if you are reading this in Australia:

Authors: 

Emily Rodda (Australia)

Michael Rosen 

Pam Munoz Ryan

Eoin Colfer

Timothée de Fombelle 

Illustrators:

Bruce Whatley (Australia)

Emily Gravett 

Sophie Blackall (see her dossier here) Ruby's wish is one of her five books sent to the HCAA Jury. 

Leo Timmers

Ivar Da Coll

Linda Bondestam 

Beatrice Alemagna

Oyvind Torseter (I have read his books The Hole and Brown)

Elena Odriozola (see her dossier here)

Art by Elena Odriozola (Spain) for the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2022

Farmhouse

IBBY Australia are thrilled to announce our HCAA nominees: Bruce Whatley (illustration) and Emily Rodda (writing).

Here is the dossier for Bruce Whatley

I have fond memories of Bruce Whatley visiting my school library in Lithgow, NSW not long after his first book The Ugliest Dog in the World was published. I am so pleased that we have submitted his book One Tree by Christopher Cheng as one of the five titles sent to the jury. It has the most stunning illustrations.

Here is the dossier for Emily Rodda

I read Bob the Builder to thousands of Grade Two kids in my school library. I also read the small Solo title Green Fingers to many groups. Emily Rodda is the author of over 100 books. His name was Walter is one of the five books sent to the HCAA jury.

One author = one quote! Hans Christian Andersen shortlist

On Monday April 8th the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen award winners will be announced.  I shared some details of the shortlisted authors and illustrators in a previous post. Over the last few days IBBY International have been sharing quotes from each of these creators. I will add the final names/quotes later today (Australian time):

Cai GAO
"I embrace a few things, one of them is childhood the other is self-reflection."

MARINA COLASANTI
“My pursuit is to reach, with conciseness, to the heart of things.”

HEINZ JANISCH
"Books were always like lucky bags, I wanted to know what was in them."

IWONA CHMIELEWSKA
"I collect strange scraps, sometimes taken from the trashcan—which embarrasses my children—and I never know which scrap of reality will inspire me."

GUM-YI LEE

“Coming up with ideas and developing them take much more time than the physical time of writing the words down. I call this time ‘writing with my heart.’"

NELSON CRUZ

"I confess, it is difficult to decide what to do at the moment when I understand the book as an object of transgression (...), I suffer to create, but I am happy."

BART MOEYAERT

"I think I am a good listener. I want to know what makes people tick. I also think I am open-minded. Those things go together."

ELENA ODRIOZOLA

"If I have nothing to say, then I prefer to stay quiet".

TIMO PARVELA

"I’ve long abandoned the idea that I should know everything about the everyday reality in which children live today: I write fiction, which means I can determine the laws and realities inside the story."

SYDNEY SMITH 

“Listening … is more in line with how I approach stories.”

EDWARD VAN DE VEDEL 

"There is a kind of addictive primal pleasure in writing and telling stories."

PALOMA VALDIVIA

"Books and art in general are a refuge, a way to survive the confinement and tedium of the equal days. "

Niki Daly 1946-2024

"I simply love drawing, and I feel like I just need to make pictures, I don't need to write," explained Daly, who credits his ability to "steal with [his] eyes" as one of the reasons for his success. 

"I have a highly developed visual memory... I steal with my eyes. Just by seeing a child playing imaginatively, thinking they are a superhero or fairy... I can easily turn that into some kind of story." 

Niki Daly was a South African author-illustrator whose picture books celebrated the imaginative powers of children and their magnificent everyday lives. Daly first became involved in drawing by using pencil stubs handed down from an uncle who painted watercolour pictures. Daly travelled to London at the age of twenty-four in order to pursue a career in singing and song writing and he found work as a commercial artist, which eventually led to illustration for children’s books. Notable about his style are his abilities to view the world from a child’s perspective and to see the world in a rainbow of shades, reflective of multicultural modern South Africa. In books such as Not So Fast, Songololo, Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky, The Boy on the Beach, and Jamela’s Dress, Daly looks at the day-to-day interactions of the myths that shape black South African reality. In 1980 Niki Daly and his family returned to South Africa after ten years living abroad. Source: Brightstar

Here is a video of Niki reading his book On my Papa's shoulders.

Read more here.

He was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Here is a tribute from IBBY.uk.

Through sparkling text and his fresh approach to colour and line, and a knack for pinning down small domestic details, he gave the world stories imbued not only with joy but humanity… stories that bridged multi-generational gaps… a little boy buying a new pair of shoes with his grandmother, a girl tap-dancing alongside her beloved grandfather, a young herdboy daring to dream of a big future, an exuberant boy getting lost on a beach, the delightful Jamela teetering around in her mother’s red shoes wrapped in her mother’s precious cloth… stories that turn everyday experiences into the extraordinary. Niki’s innate ability was to capture the essence of a child no matter what their nationality.

Here comes Lolo

The Jamela book series by Niki Daly should be in every school library but sadly nearly all of them are out of print.

"When I came back to South Africa and looked at the books that were available then in the 80s there was very little representation of black lives, and because I come from a working-class background, I just understood and appreciated the resourcefulness of children who don't have everything,"

Read this interview with Niki Daly - you can also see his first book from 1978.

Libraries, these days, are fun; made so by librarians who are my favorite people because I have never met a librarian who does not have sparkle and an infectious enthusiasm for engendering a love of books in children. They are angels in their ability to guide a child to exactly the book they need at whatever stage they are at. So, make visiting your library with your children a regular event. I encourage working parents to ignore the terrible news on TV when they return home from a stressful day’s work. Kick off your shoes! Sit side by side and read to your child. Journey together through a story that connects both you and child to your inner selves – this is true bonding.

CBCA 2024 Shortlist titles Teachers Notes

Image from Timeless by Kelly Canby (Picture Book of Year shortlisted)

I am preparing a short talk for a local group of Teacher-Librarians. I will briefly talk about some of the 2024 CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) short listed books especially the picture books but since many already have teacher's notes my focus will be on companion titles. I won't list resources here that you need to pay for such as Teachers Pay Teachers, Twinkle or TES. 

This list from Hardi Grant has links to notes for 

• Bear and Duck are Friends 
• Can you teach a fish to climb a tree?
• That bird has arms

This link from Five Senses education will take you to teachers notes for 

• One Little Duck
• Gymnastica Fantastica
• If I was a horse
• Timeless
• Bowerbird Blues

Also, Five senses have links to notes for some of the Younger Readers titles, Eve Pownall and Hope is a Thing (New Illustrator)

Lamont have notes for all six Early Childhood books and all six Picture books plus links to publisher notes for other titles. Their page is well worth exploring. It is a very generous resource from Lamont. I highly recommend their standing order service. 

Bear and Duck are Friends

• Pegi Williams (notes from Hardi Grant)
• Scholastic notes

Every night at midnight

• Scholastic notes

One Little Duck

• Harper Collins notes
• Pegi Williams

If I was a horse

• Hachette teachers notes

Gymnastica Fanstastica

• Lothian (Hachette) notes

Timeless

• Pegi Williams (Fremantle Press) Or check this out here. 

Paper Flower Girl

• Lamont notes
• Publisher Notes Westwords

Bowerbird Blues

• Scholastic Notes
• ALIA (NSS book for 2024)
• Galarious Goods

Some author and illustrator webpages:

• Sue deGennaro
• Jane Godwin
• Caz Goodwin
• Briony Stewart
• Katrina Germein
• Danny Snell
• Aura Parker
• Peter Cheong
• Sophie Blackall
• Ronojoy Ghosh
• Kate and Jol Temple
• Kelly Canby

POST UPDATE Here are links to my blog posts about each of the short-listed books:

Every Night at Midnight by Peter Cheong

Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker

If I was a Horse by Sophie Blackall

That Bird has Arms by Kate and Jol Temple

Paper Flower Girl by Margrete Lamond

Timeless by Kelly Canby

Bear and Duck are friends by Sue deGennaro

Can you teach a fish to climb a tree? by Jane Godwin illustrated by Terry Denton

The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham

Grace and Mr Milligan by Caz Goodwin illustrated by Pip Kruger

Gymnastica Fantastica! (Meet Briony Stewart)

One Little Duck by Katrina Germein illustrated by Danny Snell

Take a look at this post from my friend at Kinderbookwitheverything where she shares other books about chalk drawing and her idea to involve classes as they explore The Concrete Garden.

International Children's Book Day IBBY Australia 2nd April Video

Meet some Hans Christian Andersen Nominees and Winners 

IBBY Australia have prepared a very special video as our way to celebrate International Children's Book Day.

Fourteen of our Hans Christian Andersen Award nominees and winners are featured in this one hour program of interviews.  

This video will be sent for FREE to all IBBY Australia Members on 2nd April. 

Click the red link below:

This is an excellent resource that could be used in all school libraries

Join IBBY Australia today

Meet Margaret Wild; Nadia Wheatley; Bronwyn Bancroft; Jackie French; 

Libby Gleeson; Ursula Dubosarsrky and David Metzenthen.

Meet Ann James; Tohby Riddle; Robert Ingpen; Ron Brooks; 

Bob Graham; Jeannie Baker and Shaun Tan

We asked our presenters three questions:

1. What is the significance of your HCA Award nomination to you personally?

2. If you could read or share one book from your body of work in person with the HCAA judges which book would you choose and why?

3. Your books have been translated into other languages; what has been your response to this; and what feedback have you received from overseas readers? 

Check in with my blog over the coming days and I will highlight each of the authors and illustrators who are featured in our video. 

Here is the 2022 ICBD Poster designed by IBBY Canada with art by Julie Flett.

Stories are wings that help you soar every day

Reading is freedom. Reading is breath.

Reading lets you see our world in a new way and it invites you 

into worlds you never want to leave.

Reading allows your spirit to dream.

They say books are friends for life and I agree.

The perfect universe of you only grows when you read.

Stories are wings that help you soar every day so find the books that speak 

to your spirit, to your heart, to your mind.

Stories are medicine. They heal. They comfort. They inspire. They teach.

Bless the storytellers and the readers and listeners. Bless books. 

They are medicine for a better, brighter world.

Mahsi cho. Thank you very much.

Here is a list of all of our IBBY Australia Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominees and Winners:

1978 Ivan Southall (writing)

1976 Ivan Southall (writing)

1984 Patricia Wrightson (writing) WINNER

1986 Robert Ingpen (illustration) WINNER

2008 Jackie French (writing) and Shaun Tan (illustration)

2012 Christobel Mattingley (writing) and Bob Graham (illustration)

2014 Nadia Wheatley (writing) and Ron Brooks (illustration) 

2016 Ursula Dubosarsky (writing) and Bronwyn Bancroft (illustration)

2018 David Metzenthen (writing) and Jeannie Baker (illustration)

2020 Libby Gleeson (writing) and Ann James (illustration)

2022 Margaret Wild (writing) and Tohby Riddle (illustration)

Dick Bruna by Bruce Ingman and Ramona Reihill

Image Source: New York Times

Do you love Miffy? I do. Do you marvel that a little character can convey so much emotion? Who is the illustrator Dick Bruna? How did he come to create the Miffy series and other loved children's books?

Miffy is anthropomorphic, a little white rabbit doing many of the everyday things that lots of children do. She was “born” when the author was on holiday with his family and started telling his son stories about a little rabbit in the garden. The Conversation

Nijnte is the original name of Miffy.  Do you wonder about the size? It just seems so perfect. The Miffy books were originally rectangular and portrait format with 23 full colour illustrations and a sans-serif font, no capitals on a white background. The first square format book appeared in 1959. Bruna's friend worked out that a sheet of poster paper folded into 15.5x15.5cm formed a square book and twelve illustrations and twelve pages of text could fit into each square. Bruna does not use capital letters because he "was doing what he felt was right, appealing to the 4-year-old inside him."

Dick Bruna was born in Holland in 1927 and he died in 2017. He wrote and illustrated 124 books for children over six decades, beginning with “De Appel” (“The Apple”) which was published in the Netherlands in 1953. 

Publisher Blurb: This latest instalment in The Illustrators on Dutch artist Dick Bruna (1927-2017) takes readers behind the scenes of the creation of some of the world's most endearing children's characters. Offering a deeper appreciation of the artistry and skills behind the international icon Miffy, fellow illustrator Bruce Ingman also reveals Bruna's lesser-known work, including his striking book and poster designs. A glimpse into his studio in Utrecht reveals a man of many media, including drawing, painting, collage and photography. All the elements of Bruna's extensive body of work, spanning book covers, posters, stamps and merchandise, are given due significance in this illuminating study of his reputation and success. By the time of Bruna's retirement, Miffy had become an industry in her own right and Bruna an international star far beyond the sphere of children's books. Ingman shows us how the simple complexity of Bruna's work appeals to children, artists and designers alike, capturing the imagination across ages and artistic disciplines.

Long before Dick Bruna created Miffy he worked on book covers for his family business. You can see many of them here. 

I have had this book about Dick Bruna for many months until finally I just decided I really should add this book to my checkout basket. I read the whole book in one, delicious sitting. If you are a fan of Miffy or of other books by Dick Bruna (his Chistmas book is very special) I highly recommend this book for adults. 

Miffy is on Facebook; and Instagram. Take a look at the Miffy shop UK to see so many of the books.

This book about Dick Bruna is one title from a series about famous illustrators published by Thames and Hudson.