Ladybird Books

I still have a few of my old favourites - including The Elves and the Shoemaker. They are very tatty but I still love them - the pictures were so detailed.

I hope it's on iplayer as I was watching the Moby Dick type programme on the other channel. My personal facourite was Ned the Lonely Donkey, and I used to collect Thomas the Tank books for my grandson, a book search place used to contact me whenever they found a new one. Also loved the rhyming ones such as Gingers Adventures.

Would love to have seen the programme. I have quite a lot of very battered copies from my children's younger days and I read them, via Skype, to my granddaughter. She asked for Goldilocks yesterday but loves the Gingerbread Boy, the Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood, although some would no doubt think the stories not very PC nowadays.
I have tried to find less -battered copies and there are a few on eBay but the original picture books were not easy to find. I started showing those to my children when they were around nine months old and am sure it helped them to talk early.

Yes, I watched it and it was a lovely programme. I think the nature and history books were particularly good. I also have memories of long hours spent listening to groups of "remedial" readers stumbling through Peter and Jane. It was wonderful when we got rid of those books and got something more exciting.

I haven't seen the programme yet but have been collecting Ladybirds for about 15 years. In the early days it was possible to pick them up in charity shops for very little but now it is mostly ebay or specialist shops. I think I am now down to the harder to find titles as I have about 1600 altogether.

I have one on my bookshelf complete with paper cover! DD2 made off with most of my collection for the GS, but there are still 30 or so on my shelf. The authors of many were experts in their fields and had to write to the Ladybird rules. I loved the fact that the children in some of the books wore Ladybird clothes!!

The bulK of Dh"s collection have paper back covers .
He is watching his footie at the moment , so as all us gals know that is not to be disturbed.
I will check with him in the morning and let you know what books he has !

Anyone who would like to catch up with this programme can see it here

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03mp53s

I have just watched the repeat - what a wonderful trip down memory lane!

It is so interesting that they went with quality (particularly in the art work) and kept clear of gimmicks. I am sure this is why they worked so well.

Some of the illustration in new children's books is (like children's TV) just too busy. Anyone tried to decipher the Dinosaur Pirates?

Shame I missed the programme. I always intended to visit, when I taught in Loughborough, but never did. Must try to make time on our next visit.

It was a lovely trip down memory lane of a programme.
And very timely in my case as little GD, 4, had been reading her Mum's Ladybird book Telling the Time just the day before.
Sorry not Ladybird but I have a good old Ant and Bee as well.

My 19 year old grandson loved The Giant Turnip when he was small, wanted it reading all the time.

Granjura, I can't believe you didn't get to visit Ladybird . I did four 'project' visits with the oldest children. Number 5 opted to do a project on the bell foundry instead. Ladybird always gave them lots of freebies to take home, all they got at the bell foundry were leaflets.

I haven't watched the programme yet but I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Added to which, I love Miles Jupp

I still keep thinking of him as 'Archie' in Balamory in his kilt.

Well kitty, I was a 6th Form specialist, and I suppose all my students had visited many a time with their primary schools