Ladybird Books facts for kids
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| Parent company | Penguin Random House |
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| Founded | 1867 Loughborough, Leicestershire, England |
| Founder | Henry Wills |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | London |
| Publication types | Books |
| Fiction genres | Children |
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Ladybird Books is a London-based publishing company, trading as a stand-alone imprint within the Penguin Group of companies. The Ladybird imprint publishes mass-market children's books.
It is an imprint of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann.
The classic Ladybird book
The pocket-sized hardback Ladybird measured roughly four-and-a-half by seven inches (11.5 cm by 18 cm). Early books used a standard 56-page format, chosen because a complete book could be printed on one large standard sheet of paper, a quad crown, 40 inches by 30 inches, which was then folded and cut to size without waste paper. It was an economical way of producing books, enabling the books to be retailed at a low price which, for almost thirty years, remained at two shillings and sixpence (12.5p).
The first book in the line, Bunnikin's Picnic Party: a story in verse for children with illustrations in colour, was produced in 1940. The book featured stories in verse written by W. Perring, accompanied by full-colour illustrations by A. J. (Angusine Jeanne) MacGregor. The appeal of Bunnikin, Downy Duckling and other animal characters made the book an instant success. Later series included nature books (series 536, some illustrated by, for example, Charles Tunnicliffe and Allen W. Seaby) and a host of non-fiction books, including hobbies and interests, history (L du Garde Peach wrote very many of these) and travel.
Ladybird began publishing books in other formats in 1980. Most of the remaining titles in the classic format were withdrawn in 1999 when their printing facility in Loughborough closed.
Cultural impact
In 2014, the artist Miriam Elia, along with her brother, Ezra Elia, produced We go to the gallery, a satire on modern art in the form of a Ladybird Book. The book drew threat of legal action from Penguin Group for breach of copyright, and some changes were made to the names of characters and logos so it could be published as a parody. In 2015 Penguin released their own series of satirical adult-oriented Ladybird books written by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris.
Collectors' site dedicated to old Ladybird books Collectors' site featuring over 3000 images of Ladybird cover art Collectors' site Vintage Ladybird Book Collectors' Information site Ladybird Book Collectors' and discussion site A guide to Ladybird Books
See also
In Spanish: Ladybird Books para niños
