 Puffin Books edition | |
| Author | Allan Ahlberg |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Janet Ahlberg |
| Cover artist | Janet Ahlberg |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Picture book |
| Publisher | Heinemann |
Publication date | 1977 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 32 |
| ISBN | 9780434925001 |
| OCLC | 4467452 |
Burglar Bill is a 1977 children's picture book illustrated by Janet Ahlberg and written by Allan Ahlberg about a burglar who accidentally steals a baby. [1] The book was a runner-up for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1978.
Burglar Bill is a thief and all of his possessions are stolen items, including the bed he goes to sleep in. On a typical night of thievery, Burglar Bill comes across a box with holes in, and takes it. Upon arriving home, he discovers that within the box is a baby. The baby and Burglar Bill end up spending a day together, but when Bill is putting the baby to bed, he hears an intruder downstairs. He confronts the burglar, who he discovers is Burglar Betty, and they talk to one another to find they have much in common. Bill mentions his new infant friend that he found the night before. He introduces Betty to the baby, only for them both to discover that the baby belongs to Betty. They both decide to give thievery up and return everything they stole to live happily together as a family.
The Boyhood of Burglar Bill by Allan Ahlberg was published in 2007. It is a middle-grade novel principally about football and friendship set in a Midland town in 1953. [2] It is an autobiographical story rather than a true prequel to the picture book.
Janet Ahlberg, winner of two Greenaway Medals, received runner-up for Burglar Bill (1977). [3]
The book has received mixed reviews on various online bookstores and websites. [4] Some readers loved the book's charm and unique story, while others did not see it as being morally acceptable for a young child to read, as the subject of burglary is taken fairly light-heartedly without serious consequences. [5]
A university project that instructed the recreation of a children's book as a short animated film used Burglar Bill as its subject. It was uploaded to YouTube by user Mgcmodels and titled "Burglar Bill Animation.avi". The video has attracted nearly 60,000 views since its upload on 10 April 2011.
The striking simplicity of Bill's burgling outfit – a black mask and cap and a striped shirt – has made Burglar Bill a popular party or Halloween costume choice. [6]
Burglar Bill, played by Bradley Walsh, put in an appearance at the Children's Party at the Palace, a celebration of British children's literature held in Buckingham Palace Garden in 2006 in honour of the Queen's 80th birthday. [7]
Burglar Bill was a mock recitation piece written by F. Anstey for the satirical magazine Punch, or the London Charivari . With some other pieces it was published in 1888 as Burglar Bill, and other pieces for the young reciter. [8] The piece tells the story of a burglar interrupted in his work by a lisping little girl who asks him to force open the stuck door of her doll's house. Moved by her friendliness, he does this, forgetting about the jewels he has come to steal, and is rewarded with a damson tartlet before escaping.
Catherine Greenaway was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from the Finsbury School of Art, the South Kensington School of Art, the Heatherley School of Art, and the Slade School of Fine Art. She began her career designing for the burgeoning greetings card market, producing Christmas and Valentine's cards. In 1879 wood-block engraver and printer Edmund Evans printed Under the Window, an instant best-seller, which established her reputation. Her collaboration with Evans continued throughout the 1880s and 1890s.
Raymond Redvers Briggs was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story The Snowman, a book without words whose cartoon adaptation is televised and whose musical adaptation is staged every Christmas.
The Carnegie Medal for Illustration is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) which inherited it from the Library Association. CILIP is currently partnered with the audio technology company Yoto in connection with the award, though their sponsorship and the removal of Greenaway’s name from the medal proved controversial.
Helen Sonia Cooper is a British illustrator and an author of children's literature. She grew up in Cumbria, where she practiced literature and piano playing. She currently lives in Oxford.
Chris Riddell is a South African-born English illustrator and occasional writer of children's books and a political cartoonist for the Observer. He has won three Kate Greenaway Medals - the British librarians' annual award for the best-illustrated children's book, and two of his works were commended runners-up, a distinction dropped after 2002.
Penny Dale is an English illustrator and writer of children's books.
The Children's Party at the Palace was an event organised by Peter Orton of Hit Entertainment and David Johnstone of DJI consult, held in the Garden at Buckingham Palace on 25 June 2006 in honour of the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The event, which had the theme of British children's literature, was attended by 2,000 children and 1,000 adults who were chosen through a national ballot. On arrival, all guests received a purple hamper with snacks put together by Jamie Oliver.
Colin McNaughton is a British writer and illustrator of over seventy children's books. He is also a poet, focusing mainly on humorous children's poetry. He trained in graphic design at the Central School of Art and Design in London followed by an MA in illustration at the Royal College of Art. He lives in London.
Lauren Margot Peachy Child is an English children's author and illustrator. She is best known for the Charlie and Lola picture book series and other book series. Her influences include E. H. Shepard, Quentin Blake, Carl Larsson, and Ludwig Bemelmans.
Winifred Shirley Hughes was an English author and illustrator. She wrote more than fifty books, which have sold more than 11.5 million copies, and illustrated more than two hundred.
Janet Ahlberg and Allan Ahlberg were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lists for public libraries. They worked together for 20 years until Janet's death from cancer in 1994. He wrote the books and she illustrated them. Allan Ahlberg has also written dozens of books with other illustrators.
Father Christmas is a British children's picture book written and drawn by Raymond Briggs and published by Hamish Hamilton in 1973. Briggs won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005), a panel named it one of the top ten winning works, which composed the ballot for a public election of the nation's favourite.
Berserk is a 2007 young adult novel by Ally Kennen. It was shortlisted for the 2008 Manchester Book Award and longlisted for the 2008 Carnegie Medal.
Helen Gillian Oxenbury is an English illustrator and writer of children's picture books. She lives in North London. She has twice won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal, the British librarians' award for illustration and been runner-up four times. For the 50th anniversary of that Medal (1955–2005) her 1999 illustrated edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was named one of the top ten winning works.
Emily Gravett is an English author and illustrator of children's picture books. For her debut book Wolves published in 2005 and Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears published three years later, she won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal recognising the year's best-illustrated British children's book.
The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters is an interactive children's picture book by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. The innovative project required five years to complete, and much discussion with both the publisher Heinemann and the printer before it was issued in 1986. The first subject heading assigned by WorldCat is "Toy and movable books". Little, Brown published a U.S. edition in the same year.
Dogger is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Shirley Hughes, published by The Bodley Head in 1977.
The Clarice Bean series is a series of children's books written and illustrated by English author Lauren Child from 1999. The stories follow middle schooler Clarice Bean and her challenges navigating the complex ethical, social and philosophical questions children deal with at school and at home. A spin-off series titled Ruby Redfort, which the US publisher called a "six-book middlegrade fiction series" in advance, was inaugurated in 2011.
Alex T. Smith is a British author and illustrator of children's books, including Primrose, Egg, Ella, and the Claude book series. He was the illustrator for World Book Day 2014 in September 2013. His books have been published in several languages including Welsh, French, German, Swedish, Italian, Hungarian and Chinese.
Fritz Wegner was an Austrian-born illustrator, resident in the United Kingdom from 1938.
