LoveReading4Kids Says
Winner of the Younger Children category - Red House Book Award 2009. This book is an hilarious and unmissable treat! One day there is just a lonely pencil…It begins to draw – a boy, a dog, a cat and then a house and streets for them to play in. But everyone wants something more. They all wants names and then they all want food. The pencil draws food but it is only in black and white. The boy and the dog and the cat want food they can eat…So, the pencil draws a paintbrush. Soon the food is delicious and there is more and more action. But then things begin to go wrong and everyone wants to be different. The pencil draws a rubber so that there can be changes…But, can the pencil survive against the rubber? Luckily, it does and all is well in the drawn world again. Both the visual and the verbal jokes are simple but very effective and the cumulative impact is fantastic.
LoveReading4Kids
Find This Book In
About Allan Ahlberg
Remembering Allan Ahlberg: A Beloved Voice in Children’s Literature
We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Allan Ahlberg, one of the UK’s most cherished children’s authors.
Allan, often writing alongside his late wife Janet, gifted generations of young readers with stories full of warmth, humour, and heart.
From the timeless Each Peach Pear Plum to the mischievous Burglar Bill and the tender The Jolly Postman, his books have sparked joy and imagination in millions of homes and classrooms.
His legacy is one of kindness, creativity, and an unwavering respect for children’s intelligence and curiosity. He wrote with clarity, poetry, and an irrepressible sense of fun — always putting young readers first.
At LoveReading4Kids, we celebrate the countless memories his stories have created and the lasting impact he’s had on children's reading lives. Thank you, Allan, for all the magic. You will be missed, but your stories will live on in every shared bedtime read, giggle in the classroom, and child who discovers the wonder of books.
Allan Ahlberg (1938-2025)
As a child
Allan was born in Croydon, but grew up in Oldbury in the Black Country. He says that if he hadn't grown up to be a writer, he would have loved to have been a soccer player.
As an adult
Allan always dreamed of being a writer, but tried his hand at many other jobs before he achieved his ambition. He was a postman, grave-digger, plumber's mate and teacher - it was teaching that gave him such sharp insights into the minds of children, and enabled him to write his perfectly observed poetry about primary school life
As an artist
Allan has collaborated with many illustrators, including Andre Amstutz, Gillian Tyler and Katharine McEwen, as well as his late wife, Janet Ahlberg (nee Hall) and his daughter Jessica Ahlberg. He has won numerous awards for his books including, the Kurt Maschler Award in 1986, The Children's Book Award in 1987, the Blue Peter Book Award 2001, and The Children's Book Award: Books for Young Children award 2002.
More About Allan Ahlberg
