Creating The Jolly Postman

Janet and Allan Ahlberg's The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters celebrates its 40th birthday in 2026 – but what inspired this much-loved children’s picture book?

Behind the whimsical letters sent to fairy tale characters lies the imaginative brilliance of the Ahlbergs. Together, they crafted a story that surprises and delights readers of all ages.

Front cover artwork © Janet and Allan Ahlberg

About the Ahlbergs

Janet and Allan Ahlberg are celebrated makers of children’s picture books. Their author-illustrator partnership began when Janet, already an illustrator, asked Allan – then working as a primary school teacher – if he would try writing a picture book for her to illustrate. Allan later described the moment as “it was as if she turned a key in my back and I was off.” Together, they went on to make 37 children’s books.

Among their most popular books are The Jolly Postman series, filled with fairy tale letters readers can pull out and explore. To date, the series has sold more than seven million copies worldwide and has been translated into 15 languages.

But what’s less well-known is the inspiration for the book, and the challenges the Ahlbergs faced in bringing their innovative idea to life.

Black and White photograph of Allan, Jessica, and Janet Ahlberg at a table.

Inspired By Everyday Life

The Ahlbergs’ books are loved for their rich imaginary worlds. For Janet and Allan, everyday life was a gold mine of ideas, which Allan jotted down on paper he always carried in his pocket. One day, while watching their young daughter play with the post, inspiration struck — and the idea for a book full of letters was born at their breakfast table.

The Jolly Postman was definitely brought about by our daughter. When she was about two, she liked to see the postman come, and she loved to take things out of envelopes. She couldn’t read, of course, but she liked taking letters out and putting them back. – Janet

Original artwork page layout ©Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Once Upon A Bicycle

The Ahlbergs thought about a few fairy tale locations for the Jolly Postman to deliver letters on his red bicycle. They settled on traditional English countryside with rolling hills and brick cottages – a landscape in which a palace, a beanstalk and a cow jumping over the moon look perfectly at home.

The Jolly Postman delivers letters to familiar fairy tale characters, giving us a peek into their ordinary everyday lives. We see inside The Three Bears’ kitchen, the Wicked Witch eating breakfast, and the Giant looking after his baby.

Pencil sketches of The Jolly Postman © Janet Ahlberg

Dressed for the job

Janet and Allan borrowed all the characters – apart from the postman himself – from well-known fairy tales. With so many traditional tales to pick from, Allan started with a long list of 21 possible characters. He whittled it down to six, with many more familiar characters popping up on the Jolly Postman’s delivery round.

Janet’s pencil sketches show her different ideas for the Jolly Postman. His postal uniform is just like a real one, but look closer: his hat and badge are from the JPO (Jolly Post Office).

Before becoming a writer, Allan even spent a short time working as a postman, but unlike the fictional character, he remembered that he wasn’t very jolly.

I did used to be a postman a long time ago – but I did have to get up terribly early – and the weather was usually freezing or wet – and they didn’t pay me very well, so I don’t think I was actually all that ‘jolly’. – Allan

Original artwork for solicitor’s letter addressed to Mr Wolf © Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Everybody Loves a Letter

What makes The Jolly Postman unique is how the letters extend famous fairy tales in unexpected ways. The Ahlbergs trusted that readers already knew the stories, so they could surprise them with playful plot twists. The next chapter unfolds in the letters the characters receive.

Every letter is carefully crafted, from Goldilocks’s apology (with child’s spelling) to a serious solicitor’s letter for Mr Wolf on official headed notepaper. The Ahlbergs wished to make a book with humorous layers, and they weren’t afraid to include a few grown-up jokes in the letters.

Adults too can find things in picture books that appear to be for the little child but can contain things for the parents, luckily because the parents may have to read the book to the child thirty times in a fortnight and be sick of it. – Allan

Spotting Small Details

The Ahlbergs paid incredible attention to detail. They looked closely at real envelopes and stamps before inventing their own. Postal phrases like ‘PLEASE DO NOT BEND’ appear on the envelopes, and stamps like Cinderella’s commemorating her royal wedding to Prince Charming resemble real ones.

When designing Goldilocks’s birthday card and the Giant’s postcard, Janet drew inspiration from real birthday cards and holiday locations, experimenting with different layouts to make each piece of post feel authentic.

Building a Bestseller

The inventive design of The Jolly Postman brought some challenges. No one had published a book with envelopes containing pull-out letters before. To prove to herself, Allan, and their publishers that the book would work, Janet drew the full layout and made a dummy book with real envelopes. The book was finally printed by Heinemann in 1986. The Ahlbergs oversaw every step — from design to print.

We drove our publishers nuts – wanting the right paper, the right printing. I risk being pretentious, but just because a book is tiny and its readers are little doesn’t mean it can’t be perfect. On its own scale, it can be as good as Tolstoy or Jane Austen. – Allan

Keeping Us Connected

The Jolly Postman was created before computers and smartphones — back when everyone used the post to stay connected. Even in today’s world of instant messages, there is something very special about receiving a letter or card.

Whether you remember the story, treasure your childhood copy, or have enjoyed reading it with children, the joy of discovering the tiny letters tucked into the book’s pages connects readers across the generations.

Forty years on, we’re thrilled to invite visitors to step into the story in an interactive exhibition running from February 2026 – January 2027.