Episode 72. The Ladybird Books
SYNOPSIS
A paper shortage in the Second World War counter intuitively launched the familiar format of the beloved Ladybird Book which remarkably held its pre decimal price of two and sixpence from the 1940s to the early 1970s, placing it within the reach of a child’s pocket money.
The episode recounts the story of how Douglas Keen, a young salesman with the Loughborough printers, Wills and Hepworth, convinced its Board of Directors to turn from the printing of catalogues for the Midlands car industry to the filling of a gap in the post-war market for sturdy, cheap but high-quality children’s books, which featured text on the left-hand page and an arresting illustration on the right-hand page. Possessed with a genius for matching artist to book subject, Keen, as editorial director, brought out the fondly-remembered People at Work, Well-Loved Tales and How It Works Series.
In 1964, Wills and Hepworth introduced the influential Key Words Reading Scheme in a series of 36 early readers children’s books, featuring Peter and Jane. The Scheme was based on the insight that English language usage is based on a residuum of a few hundred words. Over 80 million books in the series were sold worldwide and the books remained in print well into the twenty-first century.
GUESTS
Helen Day is an acknowledged expert on the Ladybird Book. A child reader of the series, Helen’s interest was rekindled on observing how her infant son responded in a qualitatively different way to the illustrations of some second-hand Ladybird Books that came her way.
An interest in collecting the classic series led to the creation of a website, Ladybird Fly Away Home, which curates the stories of over twenty of the best-loved illustrators. More recently Helen has acted as advisor to the affectionate pastiche series of ‘Ladybird’ books that have been published by Michael Joseph and she has created a traveling exhibition of Ladybird books which is almost constantly on the road in Britain.
Further information can be found by Googling the website, Ladybird Fly Away Home or by looking at Helen Day’s associated social media accounts at Facebook and Instagram.
Simon’s interview with Helen Day was conducted online on 23 July 2025.