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“Mum and Dad and Ladybird books” Ina and Jack Havenhand wrote the popular ‘People at Work’ series of Ladybird books, which were published between 1961 and 1973. The following was written for me by their son, Barry. “This note is…
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I love the original classroom posters that you can still occasionally find right at the back of school cupboards. Made to support the 1960s Peter and Jane Key Words reading scheme, they were the interactive whiteboard of their day. Collector…
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… in the form of an 11-minute interview Yesterday the latest showing of my exhibition ‘The Wonderful World of the Ladybird Book Artists’ opened at the Victoria Gallery in Bath. Just before it opened I was interviewed by a local…
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Jane – fictional heroine of the Peter and Jane reading scheme books – was my role model, growing up. In some ways we had a great deal in common: we were both born in the mid-1960s, we both had one…
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I know the saccharine sweetness of the book cover above will be too much for some people, but this book should be a special one to Ladybird book collectors and is particularly significant to me. Let me explain why. 1）…
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Peter, Jane and narrator – and the Ladybird Artists exhibition This recording for BBC Radio Kent was made at the opening of the Ladybird Artists exhibition in June 2018. In it I talk a little about the…
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Here are more details about my Ladybird artists exhibition, which will be taking place in Canterbury over the summer months (2018). It will be held at The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, in the centre of Canterbury. Theere’s more information…
Read moreSomething I find fascinating is when photographs come to light that were used by Ladybird artists as studies for their artwork. Here’s one that appeared on Twitter (via @russellsdesk) a couple of months ago – along with the image from…
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Last summer, when the programme makers of BBC4’s ‘The Ladybird Book Story’ came to film, I showed the director Jon Bentley’s ‘Peter and Jane’ inspired art: ‘The Lost Episodes’. She liked them as much as I do and took the…
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Superficially similar to Miriam Elia’s work (but actually very different) is this work of artist Jon Bentley: “Peter and Jane – The Lost Episodes”. What I like about this piece is that, once you get your head around it, you…
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