Tuesday last week seemed to completely pass me by - I'll blame the change of routine for going back to school meaning that I'm still struggling to know what day of the week it is. Ladybird Tuesday is back though so this week we're going to have a look at The Builder, part of the People at Work series, 606B. Now, builders today are somewhat different characters to those in 1965 when this particular Ladybird book was written. For a start a couple of them in this book appear to be wearing a shirt and tie and there's not a white van in sight! Reading this book back now Ladybird really do ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: We go to the gallery
Tuesday's haven't quite been the same for a few months now. The Ladybird collecting hasn't slowed down here, but there's just not been much time to write about them and share them here. I've really missed Ladybird Tuesday though. I've missed going through my collection and selecting gems to share. There's something rather comforting about Ladybird books - a reminder of a previous time when the world didn't seem quite such the confusing and screwed up place it is right now. Last week's news of Ladybird planning more humorous titles later this year (just in time for Christmas) made me think ... read more
Historic Newspapers Vintage Recipe Books
I'm a complete sucker for all things vintage and that includes the piles of old magazine and newspapers that you sometime find in charity shops and at car boot sales. I think they tell us so much about the time they were written, not just from the news stories and articles, but also from things like the adverts they contain. I was intrigued therefore when Historic Newspapers sent me a couple of their news books which are Recipes and Cookery Ideas from newspapers of decades gone by. The two that I was sent were from the 1940s and 1950s, probably my two favourite decades in history. Have a ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Cataloging the Collection
You may have noticed I've gone a bit quite again. There's a very simple reason this time - I'm spending every spare minute finally cataloging my Ladybird collection! When I started collecting Ladybird books I have to admit that I had no real idea what I was doing. I remembered them fondly from my childhood, but had no idea of how many Ladybird books were out there - I just liked the ones I'd spotted in charity shops so decided to start buying them. Several years down the line there are over 400 books in my collection and they are somewhat scattered across the house. With the help of a ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Learnabout Camping
I couldn't really feature any other Ladybird book after last week's blog post, could I? Learnabout Camping is one of the later books in the Learnabout series (series 634) and was first published in 1977. The thing which sets it aside a bit from some of the other Learnabout books that I've featured here before, is the inclusion of cartoons like the one on the cover. Whilst the book contains the typical Ladybird illustrations (this time by Eric Winter) there are also a series of cartoons by Martin Aitchison dotted throughout the book. These are very different in style to the illustrations ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: How it Works The Husband
Happy New Year Ladybird fans! All that Christmas card and letter writing put me a bit behind schedule in the run up to Christmas, but now the kids are back at school (and most importantly Master C in pre-school on Tuesdays!) Ladybird Tuesday is back to stay. And how else to start, but with the Christmas best seller The Husband. The Husband is one of the new series of comedy Ladybird titles which take a look at some of the modern day problems that now face those who grew up reading original Ladybird titles. All written by Joel Morris and Jason Hazeley these books combine original ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: The Ladybird Book of Commercial Vehicles
Oh Ladybird Tuesday, how I've missed you! When Ladybird Tuesday first started years ago Tuesday was a day when I was childfree and able to ensure a Ladybird post went up every week without fail. Have you realised yet that for the last 18 months I've been running a playgroup every Tuesday and always had at least one child with me and so completely failed to post regularly. Argh! Sorry about that. Something just had to give and Ladybird Tuesday was sadly the victim. Still, only two more weeks left running playgroup - one voluntary role that I'm really looking forward to giving up at Christmas ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Understanding Numbers
The thrill of the chase is one of the things I love about collecting Ladybird books. A trip to my local Oxfam bookshop last week to try to buy something else entirely resulted in me coming home with this Ladybird gem last week. It's a couple of years since I last featured a book from The Words for Numbers series (series 661) and it's not a series that I often find in charity shops, but this was sat on the shelf for just 99p, despite being in excellent condition, and there was no way I was leaving without it. Understanding Numbers is Book 1 of the Words for Numbers series and whilst I ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Ladybird by Design, the exhibition
Well that was a bit of a longer than planned break from Ladybird Tuesday - sorry! There's been no decrease in the Ladybird hunting activity here, but school summer holidays have got a bit in the way of writing about Ladybird books over the last month or so. But as September and the autumn arrives Ladybird Tuesday is back, and restarting with a bit of a different one. I had one of those getting older life events back in July and to mark it Mr C and I had a rare child-free day together in London. Over the years I've learnt that if there's something you really want to do, rather than dropping ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: The Princess and the Pea
On Facebook I follow an account called The 80s Magazine which simply posts up photos of things that you are bound to remember if you were a child in the 80s like I was. It never fails to make me smile when I see all those reminders of my own childhood, especially as I keep seeing Ladybird books pop up on there. Now, most of the titles I see come from the learning to read r fiction series, in particular series 606D which was called Well Loved Tales, and that title sums up the books in it rather well. From classics like Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk through to Little Red Riding Hood ... read more