I was delighted to be sent this picture this week. Does it jog any memories? The picture was posed for one of the illustations of classic Ladybird Book ‘Toys and Games to Make’ (first published in 1966). The child in…
Read moreToday is Martin Aitchison‘s 90th birthday. Martin started illustrating for Ladybird in the 1960s and was one of the main illustrators for over 25 years. He is one of only a couple of key players from Ladybird’s mega-successful days in…
Read moreAny day now, Google is going to change the way that it provides search results. I’ve taken a look at where my websites/blog will be after the changeover – and they go plummeting down the listings for some reason. A…
Read moreI received this message last week: “I am trying to find a book to buy written in ITA. I learned ITA at school from 1965 to about 1968. I think it must have been pretty new then because when I…
Read moreStrangely enough, this week I’ve had two separate questions emailed to me about the Key Word Reader series in Gaelic. The first writer concerned reading schemes in general and asked:“Janet and John were very English children; theyspoke very proper English,…
Read moreIn this weekend’s Guardian, Lucy Mangan writes a short piece that reveals the soul of a Ladybird Book lover. If you missed the article, you’ll find it here: I know, I know – it sounds like a case of typical…
Read moreI don’t know if more people are interested in old Ladybird Books, but more people seem to be interested in them as money making collectables. Although I’ve been getting fewer enquiries about buying books recently, I have had many more…
Read moreI’ve just come across the wonderful archive clip. I think it was made by Harvard University to ‘represent’ English life in 1949. But isn’t it quintessentially Ladybird? How many different classic Ladybird books can you see echoed in this clip?…
Read more… as a result of the summer holidays, but here’s the link to the great feature on the BBC’s episode of ‘Flog it!‘ from Loughborough with a lovely little feature on Ladybird Books and interview with the lovely Kathie Layfield.
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