Renowned children’s author Allan Ahlberg has died aged 87, Penguin Random House publishers has confirmed.

In a career which spanned more than five decades, Mr Ahlberg published 150 beloved books that included Funnybones, Under The Table and award-winning Each Peach Pear Plum.

His popular title The Jolly Postman sold more than six million copies worldwide and was also awarded the Kurt Maschler Award. 

Following the news of his tragic passing, fellow children’s author Michael Rosen has described Mr Ahlberg as a ‘pioneer of great children’s literature’.

In a heartwarming tribute posted to X, he added: ‘You were clever, funny and wise. My children loved your books. So did and so do I.’ 

Meanwhile, Francesca Dow, head of children’s literature at Penguin Random House, said that Mr Ahlberg was ‘one of the most extraordinary authors I have had the privilege and pleasure to work with’.

Adding that Mr Ahlberg’s ‘brilliant books’ would be remembered as ‘true classics’, Ms Dow continued: ‘So many of them created with his late wife, Janet, the highly talented illustrator – have been described as ‘mini masterpieces’.

‘Allan’s are some of the very best – true classics, which will be loved by children and families for years to come. Dear Allan, we will all miss you enormously.’ 

Renowned children’s author Allan Ahlberg (pictured) has died aged 87, Penguin Random House publishers has confirmed

Francesca Dow, head of children’s literature at Penguin Random House, described Mr Ahlberg as ‘one of the most extraordinary authors I have had the privilege and pleasure to work with’

In a career which spanned more than five decades, Mr Ahlberg published 150 books that included Funnybones, Under the table and award-winning Each Peach Pear Plum

Mr Ahlberg’s first wife Janet Hall, an illustrator who died of breast cancer in 1994, worked alongside him to produce scores of beloved children’s books.

Having become frustrated with the quality of the books she was being assigned to work on, she requested that Mr Ahlberg produce something better.

The result was the 1975 hit book Here are the Brick Street Boys, the first of several collaborations between the award-winning literary couple. 

This was then followed by other classics that included The Old Joke Book and Burglar Bill. 

In 1978, Janet was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustrators for Each Peach Pear Plum.

She then went on to win an additional Kate Greenaway Medal for the Jolly Christmas Postman, published in 1991. 

After Janet’s tragic passing, Mr Ahlberg published Janet’s Last Book, a tribute to his late wife that included several unseen pictures of the illustrator.

In 2014, Mr Ahlberg made headlines after turning down a lifetime achievement after award having discovered it was being sponsored by Amazon, who were facing widespread backlash over its tax arrangements at the time

Mr Ahlberg’s final picture book, Under the Table, was published by the publishing house in 2023

Pictured: A Bit More Bert, by Allan Ahlberg and Raymond Briggs, published in 2002. Prior to his death, Mr Ahlberg worked with illustrators that included his daughter Jessica, who assisted him with a pop-up version of the Goldilocks tale

In 2014, Mr Ahlberg made headlines after turning down a lifetime achievement after award having discovered it was being sponsored by Amazon, who were facing widespread backlash over its tax arrangements at the time.

Regarding the controversy at the time, he said: ‘When companies like Amazon cheat – paying 0.1 per cent on billions, pretending it is earning money not in the UK, but in Luxembourg, that’s a bad thing. 

‘We should surely, at the very least, say that it is bad and on no account give it any support or, by association, respectability. The idea that my ‘lifetime achievement’ should have the Amazon tag attached to it is unacceptable.’

Prior to his death, Mr Ahlberg worked with illustrators that included his daughter Jessica, who assisted him with a pop-up version of the Goldilocks tale.

His final picture book, Under the Table, was published by the publishing house in 2023. 

Mr Ahlberg is survived by his wife Vanessa, daughter Jessica and stepdaughters Saskia and Johanna.