Lady bird books- visual culture

Lady bird books.

I love Lady bird books, their pocket-sized physic and beautiful illustrations have always been well loved by children all over the world. 
The series of books have managed to cover nearly every subject and interest.
 They even helped kids learn through the use of keywords.  

Some of the best known illustrators have illustrated a variety of Lady bird books.

The first lady bird book was produced by a printer called Wills and Hepworth during the first world war.

The first "familiar" pocket sized Ladybird book came about in 1940, during the Second World War. 

An animal series including Bunnikins and Downy Duckling was an instant hit with children, who enjoyed both the full colour illustrations and the stories. 

(DOWNY DUCKLING- 1940)

After the War, Ladybird took a great step forward. They knew that school books, though dull, always sold well, and they expanded into educational non fiction. Well known authors and artists were commissioned to write and illustrate books on nature, geography, history and religion.

(LADY BIRDS- THINGS TO MAKE)

Lady bird books of the present day

Today, Ladybird is part of Penguin Children’s Books alongside alongside Puffin, Frederick Warne, Sunbird and BBC Children's Books, and continues to evolve with the needs of today’s parents and children.Ladybird is also an innovator in digital publishing, helping to guide children through important learning milestones and support them during every stage of their development via new digital platforms. For instance, the Baby Touch: Peekaboo and Baby Touch: Happy Babiesapps - an extension of the best-selling books

(VAROUS MODERN BOOKS AND APPS BY LADY BIRD BOOKS)

The ladybird books were a large part of my childhood and helped mould my thoughts on what an illustration is. The company itself have grown with the times and managed to keep ontop of whats popular and what the consumer wants. You can find ladybird books in nearly every book store. They are always so bright and colourful and eye catching and they are never ridiculously priced, which makes them more appealing. 
Whilst researching I have realised if this company didnt keep on top of current styles and trends and stayed the same as they were originally the company wouldnt be so popular today. In the future I will pay  more attention to what is trending and what people want and  try and produce my work around this rather than just creating work which pleases my self. By doing this it will make my illustrations more appealing to a larger group of people.   





(A COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL LADYBIRD BOOKS)