I absolutely love Ladybird Books... but then, is there anyone who doesn't? They whisk you back into your childhood in an instant - suddenly you're there all over again, fascinated by 'The Elves and the Shoemaker', or, my personal favourite, 'The Enormous Turnip' - and don't even get me started on 'Puddle Lane'. Though in fact, I think part of the magic is that actually, they have the power to take you back even further than that, into another, imaginary childhood, where things are priced in shillings, magnets are unaccountably fascinating, lawns are green, policemen are friendly and helpful, and Peter and Jane go Shopping with Mother or have a jolly time with Pat the Dog. All this and the opportunity to hone your skills at reading such essential words as 'dog', 'girl' and 'ball'. I think the other reason I love Ladybird Books is because they also remind me of the sheer, electric joy of learning to read, of devouring whole books by myself.
Someone has obviously caught onto the universal appeal of the Ladybird Book because you can now buy notebooks and mugs and fridge magnets and suchlike with vintage Ladybird illustrations (see here), as well as a book, Boys and Girls: A Ladybird Book of Childhood. I'm not usually a one for novelty mugs or indeed those just-for-the-sake-of-it gift books that people give each other for Christmas and then never look at again, but I have to admit that I can see the appeal of these. But what I really want for Christmas is a real-life Tiptoes the mischievous kitten.
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2 comments:
I feel like I want to sit in a snug, on a bean bag with the smell of Plasticine and sand in the air and read a ladybird book.
The notepads are tempting. I noticed they have some Robert Opie Scrapbooks - if you haven't had the pleasure of flicking through one, they are great for a cosy afternoon read.
mmm, plasticine! I want to get some just to smell...
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