Category
Social observation
Let me tell you story. This is a story that has a moral, only I’m not quite sure what it is. Once upon a time there was a Ladybird book about a little red hen and some grains of wheat….
Read more(Part one is here) As I said in my last post, the People at Work series was one of the first Ladybird series I remember. The first 7 titles represent for me ‘old Ladybird’ – with a rather retro post-war…
Read moreThe thing about Ladybird Books … well, one of the things … there are a lot of things … but one of my favourite things about Ladybird Books is the way they capture domestic scenes in snapshot. Details of 20th…
Read moreFor me, John Berry is right up there with the very best illustrators. Although I’ve always enjoyed his artwork, he is another of the Ladybird artists that I’ve grown into more as I’ve got older. One reason is perhaps because his books are among…
Read more‘A’ isn’t always for ‘apple’. The question is, was ‘A’ ever for ‘Armoured Train’ ? (Bear with me; this IS leading somewhere). There were lots of different Alphabet books produced by Ladybird over the years and there’s a story that…
Read moreIs your name Lynn Brailey? WAS your name Lynn Brailey? Then perhaps you are being sought. Not for anything bad – this is Ladybird Land, for goodness sake. Let’s go back a stage. Lots of old Ladybird Books have book…
Read moreJust this week everywhere I look online I seem to see reference to Ladybird Books – and the trumpeting that they are ” to drop gender branding from its books after almost 100 years”.: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30143662 If you search Twitter at…
Read moreA few weeks ago, I was searching through my Ladybird Books, looking for a suitable picture to use for the commemoration of the D-Day Landings. It proved very hard to find anything – and reminded me how very few pictures…
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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…
Read moreRecently it has been raining. You may have noticed.Raining a lot. Of course, it never rains in Ladybird Land. Ladybird Land is a place of eternal spring flowers and sunny picnics and games with boats down by the friendly river….
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