A 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…
Read moreWhat do you do with a lovely old Ladybird Book that is totally clapped out and unusable? I mean, scribbles on pages, missing pages … beyond redemption? Do you, like me, still find it hard to throw them away? The…
Read moreRecently I’ve been having a lot of fun sending daily tweets along the lines of: on this day in history … I find a historical fact and then illustrate it with a relevant picture from a Ladybird Book. Here’s are…
Read moreOn 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….
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