A godsend to teachers winning children over to books, they have also provided precious shared family fun and ‘jolts of warmth and home’
Allan Ahlberg, beloved children’s author, dies aged 87
‘I worked with kids who struggled – this one boy would listen with rapture’
Thirty years ago I was a healthcare assistant working for CAMHS in a major city. It was a brilliant creative job where I worked with primary school kids who were struggling with home and school life. We had one little boy, aged seven, who was a world of chaos, he found it hard to connect with others and he had a tough exterior on show nearly all the time. However, a couple of times a week, we had story time in the library, a quiet and tiny room, and he would always, without fail, come and sit as close to me as he could, and ask very quietly for “Bogalabol” – Burglar Bill. He would then listen with rapture and delight to the whole story, and join in with his favourite phrases. As he listened, he became a little boy again, taking pleasure in this story with its salt of the earth burglars, and the simple joy of being read to. It remains one of my favourite memories of that time. Of course I read Burglar Bill to my own kids, and I expect I’ll read it to any grandchildren I have! Tanya Logan, 53, Frome, Somerset
