Janet and Allan Ahlberg, British husband and wife team, illustrated and wrote rich, multi-layered stories in which the text and illustrations interweave and complement each other. Their humorous stories playfully engage readers by borrowing characters and structures from traditional children's stories. The books in themselves are works of art: from cover to cover the illustrations add details to the stories, which can be appreciated by children and adults alike. Many of the Ahlbergs' books fall into one of two categories: the fairytale-inspired and the baby's day stories. By looking at three from each category, one can derive a sense of their common characteristics, motifs, themes and techniques present throughout their works and how they contribute to make the Ahlbergs' stories so appealing, popular and enduring.
Journal
The Looking Glass : New Perspectives on Children's LiteratureISSN
1551-5680Volume
11Issue
1Publisher
La Trobe UniversitySection Title
Picture WindowAuthor Biography
Tamsin Shute received her BA in Film and Media Studies from the University of Alberta and loves Canadian cinema, 1950s melodramas and Hitchcock. Earlier this year she completed her MLIS at SLAIS and is currently working as a Children's Librarian for both Vancouver Public Library and Richmond Public Library. Despite what she claims is a lack in natural musical abilities, she is learning to play the ukulele. Growing up in her parents' publishing house, Tree Frog Press, Tamsin was literally surrounded by children's literature since her "jolly jumper days". As a child her favourite book was Each Peach Pear Plum.Date Created
2007-12-20Rights Statement
Essays and articles published in The Looking Glass may be reproduced for non-profit use by any educational or public institution; letters to the editor and on-site comments made by our readers may not be used without the expressed permission of that individual. Any commercial use of this journal, in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited. Authors of accepted articles assign to The Looking Glass the right to publish and distribute their text electronically and to archive and make it permanently available electronically. They retain the copyright and, 90 days after initial publication, may republish it in any form they wish as long as The Looking Glass is acknowledged as the original source.Data source
OJS data migration 2025: https://ojs.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/tlg/article/view/50
