When you ask people which Ladybird books they remember best from their own childhood so many people recall the Well-Loved Tales series and being read the books as bedtime stories on many occasions. Strangely I don't actually remember many of them at all from my own childhood, yet I'm pretty sure I can't have avoided them all completely. So many people know the story of Snow-White from the Disney film, yet the story of Snow-White and Rose-Red was completely new to me when I found this book from the Well-Loved Tales series (606D) in a local charity shop. It's rather a strange story if the ... 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: 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: 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
Ladybird Tuesday: Learning with Mother, Book 2
As part of this week's Ladybird Tuesday I want to share with you Learning with Mother, Book 2. This book is part of series 702 which appears to have been known as the "Under 5s" series. There were 5 titles in the Learning with Mother series, all written by Ethel Wingfield between 1970 and 1972, and illustrated by Ethel's husband Harry who was one of Ladybird's most popular artists. The Under Five series is "intended to help those parents who wish to make sure that their children have every opportunity to develop fully" and this book contain a series of simple ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Things to Make
It seems that the kick off of Ladybird Tuesday appealed to quite a few of you last week and I'm delighted that Lemon Layer Cake and Mrs Fox are also hoping to join in - check out LLC's post on Florence Nightingale from last week. This week's book is probably one of the most well known of the old Ladybird titles - The Ladybird Book of Things to Make. The cover of this has been reproduced on notebooks, mugs and even as a gift activity tin in the past few years. The orginal book was first published in 1963 and was the first title in ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: ‘People At Work’ In a Hotel
This post on People at Work In A Hotel has now moved to Penny Reads and can be read here. ... read more
Enid Blyton – the passage of time
As a child I LOVED Enid Blyton. I can remember my mum ordering me my first book (First Term at Malory Towers) from the school bookworm newsletter catalogue thing (at least I think that's what it was called) and as soon as I started reading about Darrell Rivers' adventures at boarding school I was hooked. I regret not keeping all my old books and since I was pregnant with Little Miss C I have been looking out in charity shops for her books, especially versions that I remember from childhood. It's amazing when you realise that in the 40 years that she was writing she managed to ... read more