Robert Lumley and Eric Winter are the two artists I am most often asked about. This reflects the enduring popularity of the 27 Well Loved Tales titles issued between 1964 (starting with Cinderella) until The Musicians of Bremen (1974). (For…
Read moreI’ve just made a new page about the life and work of the Ladybird artist B H Robinson. He illustrated a large number of books for Ladybird in the late 70s and 80s, including ‘Horses’ ‘Dogs’ and many of the…
Read moreA rather cringe-worthy Daily Mirror feature today And they’ve made the 3 years older than I am! The indignity! My brother isn’t too pleased about being accused of vandalism by the Daily Mirror (Ok, by his sister). Look out in…
Read more… Doesn’t really exist. But it seems a shame to break a tradition of 10 years, so here’s a random a ladybird question. What Ladybird Book ends with the words: ‘She died a few days later’ A cheerful quote for…
Read moreAt 2.00 today the BBC programme See Hear will feature an updated interview with one of the best loved Ladybird illustrators (and one of my favourite people) Martin Aitchison. It will be screened today, 5th September 2012 on BBC 2…
Read moreAs we’re still in Olympics season I felt I ought to contribute this picture to the national mood. (You’re very welcome). I don’t like these books, they do nothing for me and they’re really outside my period of interest…
Read moreI was contacted last week by the Secretary of the Leicestershire History Society who wanted a piece on Leicester-born artist John Kenney for their newsletter. (To Ladybird Book lovers, Kenney is best known for illustrating most of the History series…
Read moreWhy did Ladybird become so successful through the 1950s and 60s? With the steer of Douglas Keen, Ladybird began to commission more and more non-fiction titles. These titles clearly filled a gap in the educational market and I have read…
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One of my nerdy pleasures in life is when someone contacts me and asks me if I can help them to identify a book that they remember from childhood. I’m often only given fragments to piece together – they might…
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