Ladybird Books

Ladybird: What on Earth are we doing?

January 3, 2019 by penny Leave a Comment

No – this isn’t some statement about the state of UK politics (although – maybe it should be!) but instead the question posed in the title of this week’s Ladybird book choice.

What on Earth are we doing? is part of Ladybird’s 1970s Conservation series (series 727). These books seem to have been published with two different cover versions, but I have to be honest and say that I’m not exactly sure which version of the cover came first. This title was published in 1976 and judging by the man on the cover of both versions I believe it to be just the covers that differ, with the inner pages remaining the same.

There is something that makes this particular Ladybird title a bit special though and links it back to the original Ladybird nature titles, despite it’s very 70s appearance.

What on Earth are we doing? is credited as having two authors, D H Keen and G E Simmons (and was illustrated by Pat Oakley of Hurlston Design, Birmingham) but it is the first of these authors that is of particular interest and this mysterious sounding D H Keen plays a very important role in the Ladybird story.

Douglas Keen first joined Wills and Hepworth (the original publishers of Ladybird) as a travelling salesman in 1936 and returned to the company after returning from service in the Second World War. Wills and Hepworth had started publishing Ladybird books during the war and it had been their intention to revert back to printing car brochures once the war was over. Keen was keen (excuse the pun) to convince Wills and Hepworth to continue publishing Ladybird books as he could see how successful they were. The first Ladybird books were based on fair stories and animal tales but Keen could see a market for education titles too and as he had a passion for the natural world he set about, with his wife, to make a prototype book entitled A Book of Birds and Eggs. His work paid off and Ladybird used his prototype as the basis for the book British Birds and their Nests.

So, how does this link in with What on Earth are we doing? Well, author D H Keen is no other than Douglas Keen. And What on Earth are we doing? is said to be the only title where he is credited as co-author. The book itself covers all the different ways in which man’s life impacts on the planet, and what we can do to change that impact. It starts of by talking about how this is “a book about you” and the world itself. There are pages on the land and the impact of farming methods on it, as well as talking about towns and cities, pollution and means of travel. The book also talks about how the Earth’s population is growing and how the planet’s resources aren’t necessarily enough to feed everyone if the population continues to grow at the expected rate.

In a way it was seen as a slightly controversial book, but one that I think was also very important in educating young readers about what was going on to the world around them through man’s actions.

As a Ladybird collector it raises lots of questions for me about exactly who Pat Oakley was and why a design company were credited will illustrating the title. I’m guessing (and it really is only a guess) that they may have been commissioned to illustrate a whole series, but it’s something I feel I ought to go and research more before I can properly call myself a Ladybird collector.

Once I’ve moved and got my collection all in one place I think it will be time to properly swot up on everything and try to earn my collector stripes!

This post first appeared on Ladybird Tuesday over on Being Mrs C. I am currently in the process of moving all these posts over to their new home on Penny Reads. To see the posts that have already moved over take a look at this page.

Ladybird: Learning with Mother Book 4

October 19, 2018 by penny Leave a Comment

Learning with Mother Book 4 original featured as part of the Ladybird Tuesday series over on Being Mrs C. As I prepare to start on the motherhood journey afresh it seemed an obvious choice to move over to Penny Reads. And it’s also possibly time to refresh my memory as to what I’ve got to come over the next few years!

And who could possibly resist these gorgeous vintage illustrations?

As soon as I see this particular Ladybird book, or in fact any from this Learning with Mother series, I’m somewhat overtaken by emotion and a desperate desire to give my children the wholesome, educational upbringing that it shows.

I’ve covered Book 2 from the series before on Ladybird Tuesday, but Book 4 (covering 4 – 5 years of age) deserves its own post too now that it’s in my collection. This Under Five series (number 702 for any keen collectors reading) is designed to fit in with the belief, stated inside the front cover, that “almost half of your child’s intelligence will be decided by four and a half” and it is therefore targeted at parents who want to give their children every opportunity to develop to their maximum potential.

The book starts with a really good description of the development stage that 4 – 5 year olds are at and what sort of opportunities they need to given to help them in their development. Published in 1971 this book was written at a time when parents made their own entertainment for their children during the day, instead of the present day schedule of toddler classes and trips out. It really was Learning with Mother.

I strongly believe that there’s a lot we can learn from how children spent their days as I regularly feel that many modern day children don’t have the simple, old fashioned, ability to entertain themselves. Learning with Mother really does contain some lovely ideas of activities to do with children and also examples of everyday things which have great learning opportunities behind them.

I really love the activities in this book, especially because they’re so simple but engaging for children. I spent Sunday with my mum and Little Miss C at a 1940s experience (a whole blog post about that very soon as I loved it!) and it was fascinating watching LMC play in the children’s room there. She loved all the simple games and toys that they had and kept asking to go back to play with the toys there for the rest of the day. Children don’t need modern day technology to keep them amused, it’s just turned into a habit for us to give them that sort of thing.

I’m determined now to set my kids off with some old fashioned traditional toys and games based on both what I see in Ladybird books and also what children had during the war. Hopefully I’ll be back soon to share how we’re getting on.

Ladybird: People At Work – In a Hotel

September 30, 2018 by penny Leave a Comment

This post on Ladybird People at Work In A Hotel originally appeared on Being Mrs C as part of Ladybird Tuesday. It has been updated and edited before appearing here on Penny Reads.

I started collecting Ladybird books by accident. I never intended to become a series collector, but the more I bought the more I loved them and the more I wanted to share my collection with other people.

I love sharing my Ladybird collection with my readers and hope to continue to do so here on Penny Reads. When I started collecting I was amazed that although I could find excellent listings of the books on sites such as The Wee Web there were very few people writing about the individual books themselves. Some of that has changed with the amazing Ladybird Fly Away Home, but when I first started Ladybird Tuesday back in 2012 that site didn’t really exist in the way it does today.

Ladybird Tuesday is going to kick off with In A Hotel which was part of series 606B People at Work. Originally published in 1972, this book aimed to provide information about the people who work in a hotel and how they contribute towards its smooth and efficient running. The series looked at a variety of occupations ranging from fireman and policeman to miner, car maker and pottery makers.

Things have obviously changed a lot in the hotel industry since People At Work In A Hotel was written and one of the most obvious things is the absence of computers at the time. The idea of a receptionist having charts showing which rooms are occupied and which empty is very old fashioned, but then so is the concept of someone writing a letter to book a room.

One thing that is obviously noticable in this book (and looking at the other titles in the series) is just how much the roles are gender based. The “girls in the cashier’s office” are obviously no more, but at the time of writing many companies had rooms full of women who were either cashiers or typists. Technology has replaced both these roles but it is strange to look back and see how women at the time were somewhat limited in the roles that they could take on.

The expectations at the time were that men would take on the senior roles and hotels were no different.

“In all hotels there is one man who is in charge of everything. This is the manager.”

Not one person, but specifically a man. The book even goes on to describe exactly what he will be wearing. I’m guessing that the ideal of a female manager would have probably blown the mind of whoever wrote this at the time, but it’s still a bit surprising for the 1970s.

As a child I’m sure I would have loved this book as I always thought of hotels as being incredibly exotic places and I really wanted to understand how things worked behind the scenes. That was in the 1980s though and even then things had changed. I’ve no idea when they stopped publishing this particular book but it is funny looking back and seeing just how dated it is, yet I suppose a lot has changed in 40 years!

Ladybird: How it works The Hovercraft

May 17, 2018 by penny Leave a Comment

Wherever I go I keep my eyes peeled for Ladybird books. You just never know when you are going to come across one. Most often I find the ones I collect in charity shops or car boot sales. Every so often though I see that familiar shape somewhere when I’m really not expecting it. That’s what happened with the Hovercraft title.

The latest example of this was whilst on the Isle of Wight for a quick trip with my boyfriend B. He was over there for a work trip and as I couldn’t tag along last time I made sure I did this year. After a trip up and down the Island line we then popped into the Hovertravel terminal building to find out how much a return ticket to the mainland costs. Our plan being that we could factor it into our schedule for when we next returned to the island.

Hovertravel

There, sat in a basket in front of a load of other hovercraft related souvenirs were a huge pile of copies of the old Ladybird title The Hovercraft. This was originally part of the “How it works” series. Picking up a copy quickly showed me that whilst the interior pages are an exact copy of the original 1969 title, this version of the book was actually published in 2011, specially for Hovertravel.

Their logo and website address appear on the back cover, along with the following text:

“Hovertravel, the only scheduled hovercraft operator in Europe, was launched in 1965 and is the fastest Isle of Wight service across the Solent, with a journey time of under ten minutes. It is also the world’s longest-running commercial hovercraft operator.”

This is then accompanied by the following “Hover Facts” and how Hovertravel:

carry over 850,000 passengers per year
operate up to 72 journeys per day
their hovercraft travel at 45 knots, faster than any ferry
also operates the fastest freight service

The inside cover of the book also notes that Hovertravel will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2015. I’m guessing that when the book was published in the hope of it being popular as part of the anniversary celebrations. However, the pile of them still available to buy now in 2018 suggests maybe not.

Isle of Wight

It’s a shame really. The Hovercraft service to the Isle of Wight is one of many lovely little quirky things about the Island. Whilst the technology behind it may now be a bit old, it’s still fascinating to geeks like us. The How it Works Hovercraft book explains everything beautifully, even if the context of it all is a bit dated.

These Ladybird How It Works books may have been aimed at children, but they’re actually excellent for adults who want to learn about a new subject too.

If you want to find out more about the Hovercraft service over to the Isle of Wight then look out for a post very soon over on Penny Travels.

If you want to get your hands on your own copy of this Hovertravel version of the Ladybird book How it Works The Hovercraft then just head over to Hovershop, the Hovertravel website shop.

Ladybird: Flight Four: India

March 8, 2018 by penny Leave a Comment

The weather here in the UK is freezing cold at the moment, so I’m letting myself think about things further afield and taking a trip with the Ladybird Travel Adventure series to India. I originally came across series 587 when I found Book Three which takes the reader to the USA, and since then I’ve also managed to add Flight Two: Canada to my collection. Flight Four: India jumped out at me from a charity shop shelf recently and I was delighted to pick it up and add to my Ladybird travel collection.

Originally published in 1960, Flight Four sees Alison and John again accompany their father on a business trip, but this time to India. Their father has business in Bombay to start with, so that is where they head on a luxurious Air India flight, stopping in Rome on their way. Once again there is no mention in the book of Alison and John’s mother, or any other family members that they might be leaving back home.

Not only do Alison and John start to experience Indian hospitality on the Air India flight over, but they are also charmed to be welcomed at the airport by the Chand family (Mr Rand Chand being a business contact of their father’s) who greet them with traditional garlands of flowers which their father placed around their necks.

They spend a week in Bombay where they stay with the Chand family and in this time were shown around the city as well as the surrounding countryside. They also became familiar with the size of India and the feel of the country. Once their week in Bombay was up they bid farewell to the Chand family and boarded a second flight to the smaller city of Aurangabad where their father has some time sightseeing with them. They then take the train to their father’s next place of business – Agra. However, it is obvious that the children and their father are travelling in luxury on this business trip as it’s not a traditional hot and dusty Indian train, but instead a sleek new one with air conditioned carriages and a separate dining car.

As well as Agra’s old fort Alison and John were also taken to see the Taj Mahal, before heading on to the Indian capital Dehli, where they father had to spend another week on business. This isn’t the end of their trip though as Dehli is followed by Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kashmir and the Himalayas, Benares, Darjeeling, the Ganges, Jorhat, Calcutta, Madras and Trivandrum. At one point the children ask their father to draw a map of India showing all the places that they have been to, and when he does so you realise just how much of the country they have covered. They were exposed to a huge amount of Indian culture and as well as visiting historic sights also got to see everything from tigers and elephants through to tea plantations.

Like in Book Three, the journey felt a little bit contrived. Whilst I fully appreciate how much Alison and John must have learnt whilst on their travels with their father, I am also left wondering just how realistic a trip like this would have been. Would a father have taken his two children on such a long business trip with him back in 1960? Was this because their mother was no longer on the scene for some reason, or was she left at home with other children? Maybe I need to go away and do some more reading up on Alison and John and just why they travelled so much with their father.

If you want to read about other books in my Ladybird collection then please make yourself a cuppa and head over here.

This post originally appeared on Ladybird Tuesday on Being Mrs C.