Do you remember Ladybird books?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I was brought up on them ... interested to see these two on the shelves today



What do you think they may advise our (mainly male) forum about our female partner and parents?  Posted in "the lighter side" so I may be letting myself in for ... just about anything

[Chris from Nailsea]

Actually, grahame, there are many 'spoof' Ladybird Books these days - we exchanged some of them at Christmas, down in Devon - to hoots of laughter. 

These are various politically incorrect versions, dealing with current social and political issues, rather in the style of the Daily Mail. 

[Western Pathfinder]

I can recommend The Ladybird Book of The Shed  most informative 

[bobm]

The history of Ladybird Books is to be commemorated in a set of stamps released by Royal Mail on the 14th September this year.

Meanwhile in a similar vein to the spoof books - one of my Christmas presents was "The Famous Five go alcohol free"   

[chuffed]

When I saw the Ladybird book of 'The Hipster' I thought it had been especially written for grahame

[grahame]

The history of Ladybird Books is to be commemorated in a set of stamps released by Royal Mail on the 14th September this year.

Meanwhile in a similar vein to the spoof books - one of my Christmas presents was "The Famous Five go alcohol free"   

OK - looked 'em up; article in The Guardian. Nothing to do with trains though!

[Thatcham Crossing]

"The Husband" one is quite a good laugh, if you (like me) don't mind laughing at yourself a bit.

[patch38]

Just before Christmas, Simon Mayo interviewed the two guys responsible for the new Ladybird books on his Radio 2 show and it made for very interesting listening. They had assumed there would be strong resistance from Ladybird who would try and 'protect their brand'. In fact Ladybird did quite the opposite and virtually gave them carte blanche. What I hadn't realized is that all the drawings are from Ladybird's original library and the authors found it really easy because the Ladybird archivist had done a comprehensive job of digitizing and cataloguing the entire collection, so if they wanted to do something on trains they would simply put 'train' into the search box and would then get hundreds of hits from which to seek inspiration.

[LiskeardRich]

I was at endsleigh garden centre yesterday taking the father in law on an outing from his care home and they had a full collection of such titles, he was thoroughly amused by them! I'm taking him out several times a week, and Have now visited many of east cornwall and west devons garden centres at his request. Such places seem to have a lot of such novelty ranges!

[chrisr_75]

and Have now visited many of east cornwall and west devons garden centres at his request. Such places seem to have a lot of such novelty ranges!

It's rare to find a 'proper' garden centre these days that doesn't have its indoor bit packed to the gunnels with tat! A couple of weeks ago my local didn't even have the most basic of garden tools (spades) on display in preference to assorted Christmas sh1t. Homebase picked up the business instead... 

[trainbuff]

I got given 'The Mid Life Crisis' for a Christmas present. Complete hoot and very funny!

[Bmblbzzz]

The Ladybird Book of the Hipster is hilarious. But I don't imagine Grahame to frequent a bar called H2eau; I could be wrong, of course (mine's a pint of the pure, filtered, water flavoured with fresh air, thanks!)

[trainer]

I recommend for Graham 'How it Works...The Dog'. Hilarious.

[patch38]

...especially the page about the 'spiky mouse'. Excellent 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Prince Charles co-authors Ladybird climate change book


The cover of the book was based on an image of flooding in Uckfield, East Sussex

Prince Charles has co-authored a Ladybird book on the challenges and possible solutions to climate change.

It is part of a series for adults written in the style of the well-known children's books that aims to clearly explain complicated subjects.

The 52-page guide has been co-authored by former Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper and climate scientist Emily Shuckburgh.

Mr Juniper said he hoped the book would "stand the test of time".

Ladybird produced a series of books for children in the 1960s and 1970s and has recently found renewed success with a range of humorous books for adults.

Titles include the Ladybird Book of the Mid-Life Crisis and the Ladybird Book of the Hangover.

The latest series involves experts explaining complex subjects in simple form.

The prince previously co-authored a book with Mr Juniper and Ian Skelly called Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World. He also wrote a children's book entitled The Old Man of Lochnagar.


The full cover of the climate change book, which goes on sale later in January

Mr Juniper told the Mail on Sunday: "His royal highness, Emily and I had to work very hard to make sure that each word did its job, while at the same time working with the pictures to deliver the points we needed to make. I hope we've managed to paint a vivid picture, and, like those iconic titles from the 60s and 70s, created a title that will stand the test of time."

A publishing director for Penguin, which produces Ladybird books, revealed Clarence House had put the latest idea to the publisher.

Rowland White told the Sunday Times: "It was a coincidence where we were thinking about a new series for adults after the huge success of the spoof books, but this time wanted some factual books by experts on science, history and arts subjects."

Penguin Books said the title, which will be released on 26 January, had been read and reviewed by figures within the environmental community. The other books in the series are Quantum Mechanics by Jim Al-Khalili, and Evolution by Steve Jones.

Asked how the book might be received in the academic community, Dr Phillip Williamson, an associate fellow at the University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences, said: "There's the obvious danger that this won't be taken seriously. But if the style is right, and the information is correct and understandable, the new Ladybird book with royal authorship could be just what is needed to get the message across that everyone needs to take action on climate change."


Ladybird Books has recently had renewed success with a range of humorous books for adults.