Shirley Hughes | author of Alfie at Nursery School
‘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 which, one can only say, was made in heaven.’
Abie Longstaff | author of The Fairytale Hairdresser and the Princess and the Frog
‘Each Peach Pear Plum was first published when I was a little girl. My parents read it to me and, in turn, I read it to each of my five sisters; then later to my own children. Now, every time I read it, I hear my mother’s voice in mine. It takes me back to snuggly mornings in Mum and Dad’s bed, or fights on the sofa with my sisters about which of us got to say “I spy everyone!” We used to love spotting the fairy tale characters in both Each Peach and The Jolly Postman, and the concept of fantasy characters mingling in their fairy-tale world, with their own houses and lives, stayed with me and hugely inspired my own series, The Fairytale Hairdresser.’