winning works, which composed the ballot for a public election of the nation's favourite. Each Peach Pear Plum finished a close second to the 1977 medalist, Dogger by Shirley Hughes; the margin was 1% of the vote. Probably their greatest success was The Jolly Postman, published by Heinemann in 1986; Allan Ahlberg told The Guardian in 2006 that it had sold over six million copies. It made innovative use of envelopes to include letters, cards, games and a tiny book. According to one WorldCat library record, "A Jolly Postman delivers letters to several famous fairy-tale characters such as the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella, and the Three Bears. Twelve of the pages have been made into six envelopes and contain eight letters and cards. Each letter may be removed from its envelope page and read separately." Its first-listed Library of Congress Subject Heading (US) is "Toy and movable books". The Jolly Postman required five years to make, and much discussion with the Heinemann and the printer before it was issued in 1986. It won many awards including the Kurt Maschler Award for integrated writing and illustration. There were two sequels, The Jolly Christmas Postman (1991), for which Janet won her second Greenaway Medal, and The Jolly Pocket Postman (1995). Working together, the Ahlbergs produced many popular books for a range of ages. Some, such as Peepo! and The Baby's Catalogue are aimed at babies and toddlers. For older children, they wrote books such as Burglar Bill, Cops and Robbers, Funnybones and the Happy Families series. Allan also wrote two books of verses, Heard it in the Playground and Please, Mrs Butler, which Janet illustrated, and more text-heavy books such as Woof!. Janet died of breast cancer in November 1994 at the age of 50, when their daughter Jessica was 15 years old. Allan Ahlberg says with regret that they "made an absolute fortune" but "never really had holidays". Allan later married his editor, Vanessa Clarke of Walker Books, his new publisher. As of 2017, he is the author of more than 150 published books, including two in 2004 illustrated by his daughter Jessica, who now creates picture books with other writers including Toon Tellegen. Father and daughter have recently collaborated again, completing a movable picture book published late in 2012, The Goldilocks Variations (Walker), "a new twist in an old fairy tale". Allan Ahlberg is a supporter of West Bromwich Albion