Ladybird Books

Ladybird Tuesday – Shapes

February 18, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

I’ve started looking back at my Ladybird Tuesday archive for posts to move over to Penny Reads, but I keep getting lost down the rabbit hole that is my Ladybird collection. I’d forgotten just how many Ladybird Tuesday posts there were over the years, and just how many books I have in my collection. This time round I’m re-visiting Shapes.

Shapes is a book that both Little Miss C and Master C enjoyed immensely when they were younger. This title was published by Ladybird in 1978 and was part of a series of five books (alongside abc, Telling the Time, Counting and Colours) that were designed “to help parents to amuse, interest and at the same time to teach”. On the spine they are identified as “Early Learning” and I think they were originally part of series 563, although this is obviously a later version as the original series was published in the 1950s.

The artwork in this book is very much of the era – lots of bright colours and some of it really quite “arty”. It’s interesting to note that the book was written by Ethel Wingfield and designed by her husband Harry, yet the illustrations are credited to John Scott and Harry Wingfield. I may be wrong, but I’m guessing that Scott was responsible for the modern looking parts and Harry for the more classical looking shell pictures that I’ve featured below.

I find 1970s Ladybird books quite fascinating as there was this obvious desire to update everything and modernise it in some way rather than appreciate the older book designs and illustrations for the wonderful works of art that they were. A shame really, but I suppose it gives collectors like myself more to collect!

It’s been ages since I looked at some of these 70s books and I’d forgotten just how different they were inside to the older Ladybird titles. Time to gig out a few more from my collection I think.

Ladybird Tuesday is a regular feature here on Penny Reads where I delve into my Ladybird book collection and choose a title to share with my readers. The weekly series originally started on my old blog, Being Mrs C, and this post originally appeared on there. I’m now in the process of moving all those posts over to Penny Reads and also adding titles that I have acquired since then. A list is currently being compiled here of all the titles I have in my collection.

Ladybird Tuesday: The Weather

February 9, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

After a weekend in which the country has been well and truly battered by Storm Ciara, it seems the perfect time to dust off my copy of The Weather for Ladybird Tuesday.

When I first featured this title back on Being Mrs C it seems that we had also just come out of a week of bad weather. Then again the weather is something us Brits love to talk about. There’s no wonder then that Ladybird included this title in their Nature Series, Series 536.

This book very much focuses on the British Weather and it really does teach you everything you need to know about the weather and meteorology in general. As well as talking about why the British Isles have the weather they do, it goes on to explain high and low pressures and why the winds blow.

In addition to a table detailing the different levels in the Beaufort Scale there is also a nice visual version which is perfect for children who may have some difficulties putting all the descriptions into something they can understand.

Many of the explanations about why weather events happen take me clearly back to my science and geography lessons at school. I can certainly see this book being useful with the kids. When they were much smaller their Dad had a weather station at home and they enjoyed knowing how much rain had fallen in the night and things like that. I may well have to get one so that their little sister can experience the same once she’s a bit older.

I find that so many of these Ladybird books take me back to my childhood when I read them, even if I didn’t have that particular book when I was a child. When I reached the page about thunder and lightening I was instantly taken back to one evening sat in my parents living room when we had a huge thunderstorm which really scared me. At the time I had a book out of the local library which I think was called The Weather Witch – despite my best efforts I just can’t find this at all online. In this book I seem to recall that the witch was responsible for the weather which meant that I was asking my Dad to get her to stop as I didn’t like the thunderstorm. My Dad’s efforts to explain to me that he couldn’t stop the weather fell on deaf ears somewhat and I remember going through the same arguments with Little Miss C who seemed obsessed with the idea that “Mummy can stop the wind”!

As well as explaining the weather simply (yet without dumbing it down) the book also explains how the wind, temperature, sunshine and precipitation are measured. Having been originally published in 1962 the book obviously doesn’t cover all the up to date tools and techniques that they now use in the Met Office.

Whilst weather stations like the above are still used I’m pretty sure that popping out in a tie and pullover with a pipe in your mouth isn’t the way it’s currently done.

Ladybird Tuesday – The Wonderful World of Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups

February 3, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

Something a bit different on Ladybird Tuesday this week. As much as I love all the vintage titles in my collection, today I’m sharing with you one of the newest Ladybird books and one that’s not the normal format for a Ladybird book – The Wonderful World of Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups.

The Wonderful World of Ladybird Books for Grown Ups Ladybird Tuesday

You must quite frankly be either blind or have never set foot inside a bookshop if you haven’t seen the recent comedy Ladybird titles. Perfect as birthday or Christmas presents, these books by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris take original Ladybird artwork and re-purpose it in new titles.

With titles ranging from *The Ladybird Book of The Hangover right through to *The Story of Brexit there isn’t really a topic that the pair are prepared to tackle for comedy purposes. I heard them being interviewed by Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie not so long ago, and in that interview they talked about their planned next book: The Wonderful World of Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups.

What they’ve done with this book is bring together a collection of a whopping 337 Ladybird book titles and covers, combined with example pages and text from some of them. It is an utter delight! Proper laugh out loud funny. I’m just kicking myself that I’ve only just got a copy.

Having worked through so many Ladybird books over the years with Ladybird Tuesday, I recognise much of the artwork that they have used, but the combination of it with suggested Ladybird book titles is done superbly.

The Wonderful World of Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups

The famous Ladybird picture of the magic porridge pot pouring out porridge whilst a woman shrieks in horror appears under the title Learnabout… Risotto. Learnabout… Asthma has a cover featuring four power station cooling towers billowing out smoke. Meanwhile The Ladybird Book of The House of Commons features four chimps having a tea party on its cover. Toilet roll tubes feature on the cover of the helpful How to Make Your Own Cigars book.

If you love seeing your favourite Ladybird artwork in brilliant comedy titles, *buy this book.

If you know someone that loves Ladybird books, *buy them this book.

If you know someone who has a sense of humour, *buy them this book.

Without a doubt the funniest thing in my Ladybird collection!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which are marked with a *. If you click through on these links and buy anything (not just the item linked) then I receive a small amount of commission. It costs you no more than it would do normally. I am grateful for all affiliate purchases. Thank you.

Ladybird Tuesday – You Must Be Joking!

January 27, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

In an attempt to curb my Ladybird collection in some way I don’t normally pay much attention to the ones with glossy covers. It’s just my way of trying to reduce the number that come home from the charity shop with me. That plan doesn’t always work though, and in the case of You Must Be Joking! I’m glad it didn’t.

I suppose the glossy Ladybirds that I keep an eye out for are the non-fiction ones. The titles that were released as some sort of a special edition. You Must Be Joking! is a collection of children’s jokes in aid of Save the Children. Released on 1986 the book has a forward by HRH The Princess Anne as HRH The Princess Royal was known then (she became Princess Royal in 1987). For those of you that remember the 80s, this was a year before she appeared on the, ill-fated, Royal version of It’s a Knockout representing the charity.

All the jokes in You Must Be Joking! were submitted by children of the Ladybird Book Club, and inside the back cover is a list of the schools that they attended. Inside the front cover is a page of photographs showing the work of Save the Children and a description of the work that they do, both overseas and here in the UK.

The book is split into different categories, with pages of Knock, Knock jokes, Doctor, Doctor ones, Limericks and Cross the Road jokes in addition to more general pages of jokes. All pages are illustrated in a bright, eye-catching way, an the credit for the design, illustration and calligraphy is given to Judith Wood and Michael Nicholls of Hurlston Design Ltd.

Working out what series Ladybird books of the 1980s belong to isn’t easy. There is one list that I often use, but I have previously found that this doesn’t contain everything. You Must Be Joking! doesn’t appear on the list and to be honest I”m not totally sure which series it belongs to. It sometimes is listed online with Hobbies written in brackets after the title (as also appears in the British Library Cataloguing section inside the front of the book), suggesting that it might belong to the hobbies series, but it’s not totally clear if it is or not. Yet another ladybird book to investigate further. There’s certainly a theme here when it comes to Ladybird books!

Ladybird Tuesday – The Story of Newspapers

January 20, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

This week’s Ladybird Tuesday looks back at a book that was originally featured over on Being Mrs C – The Story of Newspapers.

Ladybird Tuesday The Story of Newspapers

The story of Newspapers is the sort of Ladybird book that I really love. It really shows its age, yet I love that glimpse into this frozen period of time. Published in 1969 this book explains how newspapers came into being and also how they were produced and run at the time of publication.

It’s fair to say that the newspaper industry has changed a crazy amount since this book was published. Broadsheet newspapers have slimmed down, internet based news has changed how newspapers work, there are daily freebie papers available across the country and then there’s all the more recent news surrounding the Leveson Inquiry and the closure of the News of the World. Whilst some things have stayed the same, it’s fair to say that you could easily fill another Ladybird book with changes that have taken place.

All the illustrations in The Story of Newspapers are done by Ron Embleton and they are beautifully detailed, having a great 60s look about them. They all seem to really easily take the reader back to that time.

The one above showing the Evening Standard being delivered to a London street corner really does just speak volumes to me of London rush hour back then.

As was the case with many Ladybird books from this era there is a clear reflection of what the role of women at the time was. This meeting if newspaper management deciding what should be going in the next morning’s edition features just one woman and it’s pretty clear that she’s there as a secretary, rather than an editor.

There’s one thing that’s a bit strange with this particular Ladybird book though – you don’t see many children’s books with a copy of Playboy on the front cover, but if you look closely below that’s exactly what there is!

Now, I’m told (not being an expert on this subject myself!) that Playboy was a different kind of publication in those days – possibly more like GQ today – but I can’t say that that stops me being surprised though.

Ladybird Tuesday – Cub Scouts

January 14, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

The very first sentence in the Ladybird Cub Scouts book gives away just how out of date it is.

“A Cub Scout is a boy between eight and eleven years old.”

Quite what the author would have made off the fact that my nine year old daughter is currently a Cub I have no idea! I think if I called her a “Cub Scout” she’d also give me a weird look. As far as she’s concerned she’s a Cub. Also, the idea of her having to wear a cap, shorts and knee high socks seems as alien to her as not being allowed to be a Cub because she’s a girl.

As a woman who was only able to be a Brownie and a Guide as a child, some of the history of the Cub Scouts is actually quite interesting, and puts lots of things into context for me. I had never understood before as to why all the leaders were characters from the Jungle Book (starting with Akela who in my daughter’s case happens to be one of my friends – I’d just never dared admit that I didn’t know why!)

Baden-Powell had realised that boys that weren’t yet old enough to be Scouts (aged 12 and up then) needed something similar to join. He found the right background for what they wanted in the Jungle Book where Mowgli, the man cub, is growing up in the jungle with wolves, in particular obeying Akela, the wise old wolf. He also was taught the law of the jungle from Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther, Kaa the snake, Chil the kite and Raksha the mother wolf. This led to the Wolf Cub part of Scouting being started in 1916, with the Wolf part of the name eventually dropped.

As much as Scouting has moved on since 1970 when this book was written (50 years ago – let that just sink in…) there are some elements that are still reassuringly familiar. Things like the Cub Scout promise, motto, handshake and salute are used today (or at least are in my daughter’s experience).

Ladybird Cub Scouts Picture of Cub Scouts at a meeting

An outline programme of a typical pack meeting also looks familiar with the Grand Howl, Flag-break and Flag-down and Inspection are all part of the weekly meeting that LMC knows. The badges may have changed and been updated somewhat (although I must admit that I much prefer the look of the old badges!) but the general idea behind them remains the same, and children still feel the same level of pride when they wear them on their uniforms.

Ladybird Cub Scouts Cub Scout Proficiency Badges

I do love reading the requirements though for the Arrow badges. They are just so of their time. Things like knowing how to behave when National Anthems are played in public and having to make a scrap book on the Royal Family almost seems comical in 2020.

From a Ladybird book perspective, the Cub Scout book, like the others in the Scouts and Guides series (series 706) is packed full of relevant information for any boy (as it was only boys then!) who wants to join Cub Scouts, or has already done so but wants to be the absolute best Cub he can be. In the way that Ladybird did so well, at the end of the book is a list off other Ladybird titles “which Cub Scouts may find particularly helpful in their training”. Some great titles are on the list, including some of the Junior Science series, nature books and titles from the How it Works series. Also on there is A First Book of Saints and books on Stamp Collecting, Coarse Fishing and Cricket and Football. Unsurprisingly for 1970 they don’t seem to think that the Ladybird book of Knitting or the similar book of Sewing are of interest to Cub Scout boys!

Ladybird Tuesday is a regular feature here on Penny Reads where I delve into my Ladybird book collection and choose a title to share with my readers. The weekly series originally started on my old blog, Being Mrs C, and I’m now in the process of moving all those posts over to Penny Reads and also adding titles that I have acquired since then. A list is currently being compiled here of all the titles I have in my collection.