Vintage books

Ladybird Tuesday – Exploring Space

April 6, 2021 by penny Leave a Comment

As I stood infront of my Ladybird collection this morning trying to decide what to write about today I paused for a moment to think about which of my Ladybird books has been most relevant lately based on what we’ve been up to and what we’ve been watching and reading elsewhere. It’s hard when we haven’t really been anywhere, but also because much of what I’ve been reading and watching has been set post-Ladybird. Modern dystopian fiction, a book about the “nanny state” (more about that excellent book by Stuart Maconie later) and also America during the Vietnam War (The Trial of the Chicago 7 – an excellent film that’s well worth watching and available over on Netflix). There was one film that we enjoyed with the kids though that did fit in perfectly with one Ladybird title: Hidden Figures.

Now, if you haven’t seen the film Hidden Figures then I urge you to do so. It beautifully tells the story of three of the black women who worked for NASA in the 1960s and their key roles in the race for space. As well as helping to educate the kids about the roles America and Russia had in exploring space, it also shows what it was like for black women in a mainly male white work environment in a segregated American state. It had both kids (now aged 8 and 10) asking questions about segregation, why it happened, how it was overthrown and racism today.

Ladybird certainly didn’t publish any books about racial segregation, their Achievements series (series 601) did include a title about Exploring Space. Published in 1964 this book includes mention of John Glenn who we saw in Hidden Figures, as well as mention of the Russians launching the first earth satellite in 1957.

Exploring Space concentrates much more on the technology behind man’s attempts to explore space than the politics and the “race” between the two countries. It was also of course written before man went to the moon, and that omission really makes it feel very of its time as we look back at it. The book talks about why man would like to visit the moon, and what it might be like, but of course this was all based on theories at the time.

With so much more known about space now, it is almost strange to think back to when we knew so little. When everyone would have to go round a neighbour’s house to gather round their TV (or one in a shop window) to follow launches and NASA’s progress. Now there are YouTube live feeds of pretty much everything, in amazing quality and with multiple camera angles. It’s lovely though to be able to show the kids what it was like and what we did know and understand at the time. If we were still home schooling you could say that Exploring Space would have hit perfectly together with Hidden Figures as part of a science lesson about the race for space.

Exploring Space was first published in 1964 as part of Series 601, the Achievements Series. It was written by Roy Worvill MSc with illustrations by B. Knight.

About Ladybird Tuesday

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 – How it works… The Computer

March 9, 2021 by penny Leave a Comment

Trying to keep up with Ladybird Tuesday whilst homeschooling defeated me. Quite simply not enough hours in the day. My eldest two were waved off back through the school gates with a big smile yesterday morning though, so today I’ve finally had time to breathe again and spend some time looking through my Ladybird collection.

The most appropriate book to write about this week would probably have been Going to School, from Series 563. If only I’d had it in my collection.

Instead I’ve gone for a title that is wildly out of date, but one that covers what we’ve all been depending on for the last few months of homeschooling – The Computer.

Part of the How it works series (series 654) The Computer was originally published in 1971, but the version I have is actually dated 1979 inside. Whilst the book was written by David Carey, there is also a note inside my version stating that new material in this edition was prepared by James Blythe. Bearing in mind how many Ladybird books were previously changed in some way or reprinted without any further dates on them than the original copyright date it’s interesting to see this title treated differently.

So much of what is included seems historic now, but actually the book contains some excellent basics physics and also some information that I covered in my first year of a computer science degree course. Elements like shift registers, address systems, machine code and compilers are all basics that haven’t fundamentally changed, no matter how complex computers have since become.

The page on how magnetic tapes is perfect example of how the technology is no longer used at all, but it’s still one of those fundamental bits of physics that anyone working with computers should probably still learn about.

It’s almost comical to read the section talking about the different industries that computers are used in with no mention at all of education after millions of school children around the world have used it daily for their schooling for a large part of the last year. Also, the page that covers teleprocessing is as close as they got in 1979 to imagining how the Internet might be formed. Quite how we would have handled a global pandemic without the Internet is a sobering thought.

There’s a story that says that the Ministry of Defence ordered several hundred copies of The Computer to give to staff in the 1970s to help them understand this new technology. Apparently they were issued with all mentions of Ladybird removed so that staff weren’t upset about the idea of being given a children’s book to learn from. As far as I know, no versions have ever been seen. Does that mean it didn’t exist? Or maybe it’s sat in an MOD store somewhere?

About Ladybird Tuesday

Ladybird Tuesday – Christmas Customs

December 1, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

I’m making a massive effort to get onto my 2021 resolutions early with a determination to get Ladybird Tuesday back on track. I’ve said that several times over the last few years, but life has that annoying habit of getting in the way. With a toddler who now occasionally lets me get my laptop out and doesn’t try to sit on it when I do, I’m a tad more hopeful that I was on previous attempts.

With today being the 1st of December I’m also determined to dig out some festive titles from my Ladybird collection. These might not be the oldest books in my collection, but they’re certainly appropriate for this time of year.

Christmas Series

I’m starting off with Christmas Customs, a title that was published in 1988 as part of Series 8818. This isn’t a series that I’m very familiar with, as it’s a little later than most of my collection, but a bit of research suggests that there were a total of six titles in the series. Looking at Nicole’s amazing master list of Ladybird books (here is you’re not familiar with it) it lists the following as being published between 1988 and 1991:

Christmas Customs
Christmas Songs
The Christmas Mouse
The Christmas Story
Toad’s Christmas Party
Well Loved Carols

Only three of these titles are listed on the series list on the back of my book – Christmas Customs, Christmas Songs and Well Loved Carols – and that seems to fit with those three being the first titles published in the series.

What is lovely about Christmas Customs is that the book actually goes somewhat further than the title suggests. As well as covering the Christmas Story and the Christian customs that many of us are familiar with, the book also looks back at the Saturnalia which was celebrated by the Romans who honoured Saturn. They were the first to decorate their homes with evergreens (to remind Saturn to send crops and plants for food the following spring) and this tradition continued to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. The book looks at why holly, ivy and mistletoe were chosen to be used to do this.

The influence of the Victorians

Christmas Trees came over to England from Germany with Prince Albert in 1846, and whilst I knew that I have to admit that I wasn’t totally familiar with the original story of Martin Luther’s tree.

Ladybird Christmas Customs Victorian Traditions

The Christmas Tree wasn’t the only Christmas Custom that was introduced in Victorian times. It was also when the first Christmas cards were sent, and the first Christmas Crackers pulled.

This morning my children opened the first door on their advent calendar, and I suppose it’s a bit disappointing that the book talks about these, but now where they came from. A quick search online suggests they were first used by German Lutherans in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Christmas around the world

Christmas Customs can vary from country to country and as well as introducing us to Santa Claus the book also talks about St Nicholas (or Sinterklaas as he is known in The Netherlands), Christkindl (Germany’s Christ Child) and Befana who delivers gifts to Italian children on 6 January each year.

For many people food traditions are an important part of their Christmas celebrations. But why do we eat mince pies, turkey and Christmas puddings? It’s worth reading to find out.

What’s in a name?

Many children wonder why Boxing Day is called what it is. Some think of people donning boxing gloves for the day, whilst others think about all the boxes that their gifts came in the day before. The real reason for the name comes from medieval times, when alms boxes were placed at the back door of every church to collect money for the poor. These boxes were always opened on 26th December and so that is why the day became known as Boxing Day.

I’ve actually learnt quite a few new facts from reading this book. I wasn’t aware before that the word pantomime means “all mime” and that the first pantomimes were acted out entirely through dancing and mime. They’ve become such a huge Christmas tradition that I know many of us will miss this year in particular.

It can be so easy to be caught up in the commercialism of Christmas, but even if you’re not religious yourself, it’s lovely to try to understand some of the Christmas customs, why we do them and when they originated. Christmas Customs is actually a perfect way to start filling in some of the gaps in my knowledge.

About Ladybird Tuesday

Ladybird Tuesday – How to Make Flying Models

August 18, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

One thing I love in particular about vintage Ladybird Books is just how specific they were. This week’s choice, Flying Models, is very much that. Part of the How to Make sub-series that was a 1970s addition to Series 633 it really is quite narrow in what it covers compared to so many craft books of today.

Vintage Ladybird Books The Cover of How to Make Flying Models as part of Ladybird Tuesday

Published originally in 1979, and so full of some great kids’ late 70s fashion, a note inside the front of the book makes you feel slightly like it is trying to justify its existence from the very start:

The flying of model aircraft is recognised as a spot by the Sports Council, and the governing body of the sport is The Society of Model Aeronautical Engineers Limited.

Vintage Ladybird Books Some dubious 70s fashion from the book Flying Models as part of Ladybird Tuesday

As far as craft books go, Flying Models doesn’t really strike me as one for a complete beginner. Instead it is geared much more towards an older child, or one with lots of help, who has maybe done some model making before, and who certainly has access to a variety of materials and tools.

Starting with an introduction into the various parts of an aeroplane and how it flies, the book aims to provide some background theory about flight before lunching into how to actually make flying models. Balsa wood is introduced as the most common material used in model aircraft and it’s something I recall quite a bit of from my childhood, but now in 2020 I’m not at all sure where I would buy it if I didn’t have a good model shop nearby, or access to the internet of course!

The book has several pages detailing balsa wood, the different types available, the various adhesives you might need to use and the tools you need to make your models. It seems a shame in a way that it goes through all that before introducing the first model – a paper plane – which only needs paper, scissors and PVA glue to make. Maybe this is a reward for those children who have managed to stick with the book until page 18?

Once the paper plane has been mastered the book then moves on to boomerangs made of plywood and a balsa wood glider. Both the sorts of wholesome projects that you can really imagine a Ladybird era child embarking on on a weekend with their Father in the shed whilst Mother makes dinner in the kitchen.

Vintage Ladybird Books Technical intersections for making a flying model as part of Ladybird Tuesday

In fairness though Flying Models is a brilliant book for children who are really interested in aerodynamics and making aircraft whilst understanding some of the principle behind them. There are detailed drawings showing what you need with all the measurements on them. It’s not everyday that a children’s book has diagrams labelled with terms like “wing dihedral diagram”. For anyone wondering dihedral means “inclination of an aircraft’s wing from the horizontal, especially upwards away from the fuselage”. Even having a degree in engineering this was something I had to go and look up!

A page from the vintage Ladybird Book How to Make Flying Models

I honestly have no idea if you could get a children’s book as detailed as this in modern times, but it really would be perfect for children who are showing an interest in aerodynamics and would definitely be the basis of some physics lessons should I ever need to homeschool again. I just need to find myself a balsa wood supplier and raid the OH’s tool bag first.

About Ladybird Tuesday

Ladybird Tuesday: The Story of Our Canals

July 14, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

I’ve become a bit canal obsessed lately. The things is, during lockdown I realised that we don’t live near water. Any water. No rivers, streams, lakes or even ponds. Not close enough to walk anyway.

It was possibly the thing that drove me mad most when we weren’t able to drive anywhere and yet until then I hadn’t realised just how much I loved it. I’d become used to walking along canal tow paths with the buggy pre- lockdown as they are always flat and not too muddy, but I hadn’t realised how much I would miss life on the water when I couldn’t go there any more.

We’re lucky enough to live only a short drive from the Grand Union Canal and it is now our go to place for walks. There’s just always so much to see. The usual coming and goings of narrow boats, but also locks, plenty of wildlife and also a good number of geocaches too.

A picture from The Story of Our Canals showing a canal boat in the foreground and a steam train in the distance.

I know that as someone known for their love of trains, falling a bit in love with canals too may seem a bit weird, but I see it more like loving two children than an exclusivity thing. The relaxed pace of life on the canals is just gorgeous, and especially appealing when everyone else seems to be gearing back up to a pre-covid pace, yet I’m still feeling quite happy to continue as things were in lockdown.

Front cover of the Ladybird book The Story of Our Canals

Whatever my reasons for falling in love with canals is, I definitely feel I should try to expand my knowledge of canal history and life on them. As with so many subjects my first place to look was my Ladybird book collection and The story of our Canals. This title was originally published in 1975 as part of series 601, which was known as the Achievements series.

This title covers pretty much everything you could even want to know about canals in Britain. You can read about the history of the first canals and the increase in demand for them from business people of the time who saw the advantages of transporting materials or finished produce over the water. There’s also a fair amount of details about how canals actually work; how locks are used to enable boats to go up or down gradients and how engineers designing the canals dealt with needing a water supply to not only initially fill the canals but also to keep them full when locks were in use.

A double age spread from The Story of Our Canals showing a map of England and Wales with the canal network marked on it.

Canal life was obviously impacted greatly by the advance of the railways, and that is when families started living on boats more alongside the boatmen. For those who live on canals today, life is obviously very different, but some similarities in the way of life still exist. From all the canal boats that we’ve walked past recently I can tell that all of them use space ingeniously and go to great lengths to make the most of everything they have on board.

A picture from the Ladybird Book The Story of Our Canals showing tow canal boats in a lock.

I’m not at all sure my messy family could ever cope with squeezing everything that own onto a canal boat, but that pace of life, and the closeness to the water and nature definitely appeals.

About Ladybird Tuesday

Ladybird Tuesday – Ladybird Toddler Books – On the Farm

June 16, 2020 by penny Leave a Comment

This week in Ladybird Tuesday, let’s go On the Farm!

At 19 months old, my youngest is now obviously destined to be a book worm. Since as soon as she was able to hold a book she loves looking at them, and now that her language is starting to develop words are coming thick and fast and she loves pointing at things in the pictures and saying what they are. Amazingly she has already mastered the art of making sure the book is the right way up – although she’s not yet as gentle as I’d like her to be with some titles. And let’s not mention the bite marks in a couple of her board books!

Ladybird Toddler Books On the Farm - photo shows teh front cover of the book featuring a sheep and two lambs

We’re at the stage though where I’m starting to brave letting her have paper books when reading with me. Strictly only board books when on her own though! This week I’ve started to introduce her to some of the titles from the Ladybird Toddler Books series from the 80s, and in particular, On the Farm.

The Ladybird Toddler books have featured on Ladybird Tuesday before. My Day made an appearance when Master C was approaching his second birthday, nearly 6 years ago.

These books were part of series 833, a series designed to educate and amuse little ones with things that they would find familiar. I’ve only ever managed to find three titles from the series (My Day, On the Farm, and On the Move) but I should make a real effort to find the others before Tube Stop Baby is too old to appreciate them. I think there were seven titles in total – so four more to try and find once the charity shops re-open. The missing ones from my collection are Puppies and Kittens, Going to Playgroup, Looking at Animals and Look at Me.

A page from Ladybird Toddler Books On the Farm showing a milk tanker filling up on a dairy farm

On the Farm takes a lovely look at all the different aspects on life on a farm. From the early mornings, through to the milk tanker arriving to collect the day’s milk, crops growing in the fields and the sheepdog rounding up the sheep. It’s more than so many farm books that only seem to feature farm animals and nothing further.

The illustrations (by Pat Oakley) are lovely in style in the way that they are realistic, but child friendly at the same time. Nothing too stylised and abstract. The text is relatively simple, with an average of four lines for each double page spread, and often includes a question prompt to encourage small fingers to point things out, or even count things in the pictures.

A double page from the Ladybird Toddler Book On the Farm featuring a pig sty full of a pig and her piglets

I know 80s Ladybird books aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve developed a soft spot for this particular series. Maybe it’s because I see how much my children enjoy them? Whatever the reason, I’m definitely going to try to complete this series in my collection as soon as I can.