Momo celebrating time to read: Helen Oxenbury

Our world is a richer place because we have books written and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (2 June 1938) and Allan Ahlberg (5 June 1938). Allan Ahlberg is the author of more than 150 books. I have fond memories of reading Tom and Pippo to young children and I collected all of the Red Nose readers in my first school library. The Jolly Postman was such a revolutionary book with all those inserts. I read The Vanishment of Thomas Tull and Jeremiah in the Dark woods to thousands of children in my school library.

See more images on Pinterest - Allan Ahlberg and Helen Oxenbury.

Helen Oxenbury, the English illustrator who excels at books for very young children and is well-known for her superb board books has a much softer approach to her illustrations. You feel as if her characters are real and you would like to give them a hug. Tim Wynne-Jones from the Toronto Globe put it perfectly when he said, "Helen Oxenbury is the book world's foremost authority on the antics (and anatomy) of small people." Kinderbookswitheverything

Here are some wonderful books which I hope you can find in your local or school library. You might even have a few on your own shelves.