Ladybird Leaders: Soldiers, 1976

Ladybird Leaders: Soldiers , 1976

The Ladybird Leaders series were created for the younger child to act as “first informaton books”. Written in very clear, simple prose they provide an excellent introduction to non-fiction topics for primary children and create a sound basis for project work.

Soldiers is an interesting book because it was published after the company Ladybird had been sold to a large conglomerate.  In the late 1970s there were lots of different ways in which the new leadership tried to break away with the past.  Previously, editorial decisions had minimised talk of modern warfare.  War only came up in historical setting – Agincourt or Waterloo.  The book ‘The Soldier’ from the People at Work series, focused mainly on non-combat roles.  This book, though, contains pictures of trench warfare of WW1, the Normandy Landings and even hints at Vietnam.  It ends with a stark reminder of the widespread suffering created by modern warfare.

This matt copy dates to the mid- 1970s.  It’s in very good condition inside and out.  The boards have some speckles of foxing – the pages are nice and clean.  It has an original price of 24p printed on the back.