Yes I have noticed it's Wednesday (and Wednesday evening at that!) but Tuesday this week vanished into a mix of trying to comfort a teething baby and preparing for Mr C's birthday. I had a Ladybird Tuesday post planned in my head though so I'm just pressing ahead a day late. This week I have another book from the People at Work series (series 606B) and as I found with the In a Hotel book - it seems to be full of things that today would be considered sexist! First published in 1968 The Car Makers describes the production of a car as it was then, from first designs to ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Beaky the Greedy Duck
A fiction choice for this week's Ladybird Tuesday. There are actually two Ladybird series which are devoted to animal stories, series 401 - which Little Miss C regularly enjoys quite a few books from - and series 497 which Beaky the Greedy Duck belongs to. The 497 books are all somewhat longer and written in a conventional prose style rather than the rhyming couplets that series 401 likes. As the title suggests this book is all about Beaky, a duck who happens to be rather greedy. It's a lovely little story, if a little long when LMC selects it as a bedtime book, and accompanied by ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Stone Age Man in Britain
A little bit late with today's Ladybird Tuesday post - apologies! Today is my first book from Series 561, Adventures from History - Stone Age Man in Britain (first published in 1961). This whole series provides a fantastic background into British and world history with most of the books focusing on a famous person and their role in our history. Several kings are included along with the likes of Sir Walter Raleigh, Florence Nightingale and Captain Scott. Some of the others in the series look further afield - Julius Caesar and Roman Britain, and Cleopatra and Ancient Egypt. A recent ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: The Zoo
After numbers last week, today Ladybird Tuesday is moving on to words and a book from the Learning to Read series (series 563) - The Zoo. As with so many Ladybird books this one is written around a subject which appeals to all children - the zoo. The text is very straight forward and designed so that when looked at with the accompanying illustrations it is very easy for a child to work out what it is saying. When this book was first published in 1960 elephant rides were a popular sight at many zoos and you can see the elephant in the above illustration wearing the seat that would have ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: More words for Numbers
I'm sticking with the slightly scientific theme introduced on the blog yesterday for today's Ladybird Tuesday: More words for Numbers. I have to admit that when I picked this book up I wasn't really sure what to expect. What do they mean more words for numbers? Is this a thesaurus with just one entry? I'll let the description inside the cover of the book take over here: When describing the changing approach to the learning of mathematics, the Schools Council observes in "Curriculum Bulletin No. 1" that we can accelerate learning by providing suitable ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: A Second ‘Do You Know’ Book
I remember as a child sitting down with my Dad to look up some facts about planets as part of my school science homework. In those days the only way to do so was to sit down with some books yet I'm pretty sure that when I have to do similar with Little Miss C and Master C we'll be using the Internet instead and I think I feel a bit sad about that. Yes Google is very useful, but there was a certain satisfaction in finding the answers there on my bookshelf. My choice for today's Ladybird Tuesday is a book that fact loving children would have jumped upon at the time - A second ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Picture Reading
As well as the many non-fiction books that Ladybird produced they were also responsible for many children of a certain generation learning to read through their Key Words Reading Scheme. This book, Picture Reading, was designed to fit in before children actually started reading though. The aim is to encourage parents to sit down with their children and to talk about what they see in the pictures and possibly relate what they see to things in their own lives. Picture Reading was the only book in series 721 and was originally published in 1972. Harry Wingfield was responsible for the artwork for ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries
There's absolutely no doubt that I was something of a geeky child. I had a chemistry set and also a selection of batteries, bulbs and electric wires. I also had a magnet set that I loved so much that when I saw the same one for sale on eBay last year (in new condition) I bought it instantly to put away for Little Miss C and her, then still a bump, baby brother. It's no wonder that I went on to study physics and chemistry at A-Level and engineering at university. I would have loved the Ladybird Junior Science Book Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries - in fact some of the projects look so ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Learnabout… Maps
There's nothing better than a New Year's Day walk to blow off the cobwebs post Christmas and that's what inspired my choice of this week's Ladybird Tuesday: Learnabout... Maps. The Learnabout series (series number 634 if you're wondering) included books on both indoor and outdoor activities ranging from Stamp Collecting to Coarse Fishing and Training Your Dog. I'm a complete map addict and hence the book on maps has to be my favourite from the Learnabout series. First published in 1967 I'm guessing that the copy I have has to be a later reprint - mainly due to the ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Learning About Insects and Small Animals
If you look at all the Ladybird titles originally published what really stands out to me is the number of natural history books that there were. They were not all confined to Ladybird series 651 (Ladybird Natural History Books) but that series is where this particular book sits - Learning about Insects and Small Animals. First published in 1972 and written by Romola Showell this books concentrates on those smaller creatures that small children seem so fond of finding in their back gardens or whilst out and about. The level of detail in this books is vast and covers everything ... read more