On Monday I’m off to China for 3 weeks. I’m leaving husband and son behind and am going with a Chinese friend. Preparing for the trip, it occurred to me how little there is in all the Ladybird series about…
Read moreRecently I’ve been taking a closer look at how family members are shown across the decades in Ladybird Book. ‘Mummy’ in the 40s 50s and even 60s is often a very glamorous creature – very slender and with wonderfully coiffered…
Read moreAs all collectors know, Ladybird Books can be harder than most to accurately date. For the most part, the only date in a vintage Ladybird Book is on the title page – and that date is the date of 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…
Read moreHere is Peter. Here is Jane and here is an excellent vehicle for spoof and parody. This is fun! Peter, Jane, Mummy, Daddy and Pat the Dog have been asking for it, pretty well since they were invented, in 1964. …
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….
Read moreLadybird Land feels a long way from the world of social media. I’ve been using Twitter for many years and find it very useful for lots of different things. In my work I found it a brilliant way of staying…
Read moreCinderella rides again – facsimile editions In the comments of my TV blog post , a number of people, perhaps not surprisingly, called for favourite old Ladybird Books to be re-issued. I didn’t like to say so, but actually, over recent years,…
Read moreAs the recent documentary on Ladybird Books made clear, William Murray, creator – with McNally – of Peter and Jane, was a commited educationalist. His methodical, scientific approach to the teaching of literacy was what first enthused Douglas Keen and…
Read moreMaidstone Museum’s new exhibition: A Ladybird Childhood is having its preview tonight and opening tomorrow. I’d love to go to the preview – but it’s just to far from Hertfordshire in Friday evening traffic. I’m sure I’ll make it down…
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