Robert Lumley was born in Southwark, London, in 1920, the elder of two surviving children. The family moved frequently between London and his father’s native Tyneside, chasing work. Young Robert made the best of an itinerant life, joining the Scouts…
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You’ll find a longer page about Martin and his work for Ladybird here Martin Aitchison was born in Staffordshire in 1919. He was educated at Ellesmere College, Shropshire where his profound deafness hindered his academic education. However,his precocious artistic talent…
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Whenever anyone writes the story of the Peter and Jane Key Word Reader books, they, not unnaturally, tell a similar story: that the first Peter and Jane book was published in 1964, written by William Murray and illustrated by Harry…
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Some of us grew up with the characters Peter and Jane, from the key word reader series. But who were the real children who inspired the illustrations? This is the story of ‘Peter’, (aka Adrian Heath) who can claim to…
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On this page you’ll find information about different versions of Ladybird books or those with different covers. If, for example, you want to collect all the original 606d books, it helps to know which books belong to this series and…
Read moreWhich Ladybird Book villain used to scare you most? The Bridge Troll The Dwarf from Snow White and Rose Red Rumpelstiltskin Rapunzel’s witch The wolf from Little Red Riding Hood The wicked fairy from Sleeping Beauty Jack’s ogre The wolf…
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Last Friday (10th March) saw the official opening of the Museum of English Rural Life, (MERL for short) Ladybird Books gallery. This was my second visit to the museum but I thought I should wait until after the official opening…
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