I am often asked to identify books from fairly little information – someone will email me asking if I can help them identify a much loved childhood book from some vague recollection of an illustration or a line of text….
Read moreMartin Aitchison has released some more pieces of original Ladybird Book artwork for sale. Take a look at his gallery here. There are some lovely pieces here. I think my favourite is ‘Liang Painted a Storm’ from the Read it…
Read moreI received this ‘video response’ today to a Ladybird Book themed video on YouTube. This captures so well the power that a well-pitched, well-written, beautifully illustrated book can have on a child.
Read moreA couple of good friends visited me from the USA this summer. Of course they wanted to visit London and were especially keen to see The Tower of London. Since you get more out of a visit when you know…
Read moreCirencester Ladybird Book Hunt How’s this for dedication – and a bit of creativity! In Cirencester, the Oxfam bookshop has organised a special week featuring old Ladybird Books. They have had the idea of involving other local shops and children…
Read moreA Ladybird Book featured pretty prominently on Doctor Who this week. Not a ‘proper’ Ladybird Book, you might say. Not a Ladybird classic. The Romans, 1994 – not the wonderful L. du Garde Peach/Kenney classic from 1959. But then it’s…
Read moreSo far the car boot season has been a bit disappointing. We’ve had pretty good weather – but weekend mornings have been a bit wet. Or maybe I’m getting old and the attraction of the early morning car boot field…
Read moreOk, this is very silly. But experimenting with an new online tool, I might as well share the product. The story of how I became a collector of Ladybird Books: You’ll find it here.
Read moreI once went to the launch of a Ladybird exhibition or nostalgia-fest book and the speaker (who worked for Penguin) opened by asking, “Is there a Peter or Jane in the room?” She went on to say that at most…
Read moreIf that means anything to you, you may have been in the Puffin Club as a child. Or perhaps you still are 🙂 This weekendI read an article on Puffin Books, and for many of us, there is a real…
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