Endearing Indira?

If you often visit eBay - perhaps in quest of Ladybird Books - you might some times have tried searching by 'Most expensive item first'. If you've tried that in recent weeks you might have seen a Ladybird Book 'Indira Gandhi' at the top of that list.

Yes, that's right. £350.00 for a laminated Ladybird Book which dates from 1986. A seller's typo? Did the seller mean £3.75? Isn't even that quite dear for a relatively recent book?

Well clearly £350.00 wasn't a typo. When the book failed to sell at that price, it swiftly re-appeared at £325. As you can see, it is currently listed with a starting price of £325.00 (Buy-it-now option of £350.00).

So should you 'Buy it now'? Well, guess what. I wouldn't if I were you.

Yes, actually this is a pretty rare book. Not many were printed. Perhaps the book was commissioned shortly after her assassination, when the world was still shocked at the turn of events. Perhaps when the book was finally ready for distribution in 1986, the world had moved on. Perhaps now Ladybird was concerned that they might be accused of political bias. Or perhaps it simply didn't sell very well.

At any rate, there were never many copies in circulation and so Indira Gandhi today is perhaps the hardest-to-find Ladybird Book ever printed with a glossy cover (ie after 1983).

But it's not exactly 'The Impatient Horse'. There are copies out there. I've come across 3 copies on sale in charity shops for charity-shop prices since I've been collecting. If really want one to complete a collection, you'll find one sooner or later if you hang on for long enough.

Can't wait? Just look a bit further down the list of the same eBay search and you'll find this one



A 'mere' £49.00 ...

And the winner is ...

I am proud to announce the winner of this year's Ladybird Christmas Quiz as ...

Robert Fearn. Robert, I can send you your grand prize of Ladybird wind chimes if you let me know your address.

Here are the answers. In general it was the classical music which foxed people.



Question 1


(2 words)


Answer: Black Beauty


Question 2


(3 words)


Answer: Boys and Girls (Peter and Jane book 3b)



Question 3


(Various contenders for this one. Choose the first of the series. 3 words)



Answer: The Silver Arrow(Theme to 'Robin Hood' Prince of Thieves)


Question 4


(1 word)



Answer: Fireworks(Music for the Royal Fireworks - Handel)


Question 5


(3 words)



Answer: Bonnie Prince Charlie(Skye Boat Song)


Question 6


(2 words)



Answer: Sleeping Beauty(Tchaikovsky)


Question 7


(2 words)



Answer: Baby Jesus


Question 8


(2 words)



Answer: The Snowman



Thanks to all those who took part

Happy New Year!

Winning score now stands at 6 out of 8

Can you beat that?

Click here to try

The Story of Music

Have I made it a bit hard this year? So far no one has scored more than 4 out of the 8 Christmas Quiz questions.

If you think you can beat 4, have a go here.

Ladybird Musical Christmas Quiz 2010

This year, a musical theme - and a prize! The winner of the quiz will win some Ladybird wind-chimes. If I get more than one submission of the correct answer (which usually happens) I'll put all correct answers into a hat and randomly select one after Christmas.

OK so down to the serious business:

1) Listen to the 8 clips below. Which mainly pre-1980s Ladybird Book is referred to by each tune? In most cases the clue might be in the title of the song, or it might be a theme tune to film or programme. In one case, the clue is a bit more tenuous - more to do with the origins of the song.

2) Jot down the answers somewhere, you won't be able to go back to listen again easily once you click on the 'submit here' link. (You can re-submit/change your answers any number of times). Alternatively, you can just email me your answers: nmccar1063@aol.com

3) When you think you know the 8 Ladybird Books, click on the link at the bottom of this post, type your email address in the 'name' box (so I can identify the winner) and submit your answers.

4) Check back after Christmas to see the winner

Good luck!


Question 1


(2 words)


(Remember, the link to submit your answers is at the bottom, below the 8 clips but it's easier to jot down your answers on paper before going there). Alternatively you can email me: nmmcar1063@aol.com

Question 2


(3 words)



Question 3


(Various contenders for this one. Choose the first of the series. 3 words)


Question 4


(1 word)


Question 5


(3 words)


Question 6


(2 words)



Question 7


(2 words)


Question 8


(2 words)





Think you know all or most of the answers? Click here.

REMEMBER to type your email address in the 'name' box (so I can identify the winner) and submit your answers. Use only lower case and no punctuation.

Identified a song too late? You can resubmit - I'll take your best answer.

Good luck - and Happy Christmas to everybody!

Stumpy the Bear?

I am often asked to identify books from fairly little information - someone will email me asking if I can help them identify a much loved childhood book from some vague recollection of an illustration or a line of text.

To be honest, it's usually easy to help. I'm surprised by how often it is the same books that are enquired about in this way - the same images which have lodged in peoples' heads over several decades.

For example I'm often asked about a book of poems that has one about cleaning out a porridge bowl or that contains a poem about daddy falling into a pond. (Bedtime Rhymes, edited by Audrey Daly). The earlier Lapage incarnation of Bedtime Rhymes is another which seems to haunt people, who fondly remember 'Old Tom Tomato' 'Gee Gees and Hee Haws' etc.

However, sometimes people will contact me, convinced that the book that they recall is a Ladybird Book, but which I don't recognise at all - and that's happened this week:

I'm trying to track down a book from my childhood to give to my daughter .
I'm pretty sure it was a ladybird book called Stumpy . The story was about a teddy bear found on the beach by a young child . Sorry i cant be more specific about the story . I have looked on various web sites and even on the ladybird site . It would mean a lot if i could get hold of a copy .

Can anyone out there help? I don't recognise it, but maybe the writer of the email is quite young and the book is outside my range of interest (1940 - 1985). Do let me know if you can help.

New Martin Aitchison artwork for sale

Martin Aitchison has released some more pieces of original Ladybird Book artwork for sale.

Take a look at his gallery here. There are some lovely pieces here. I think my favourite is 'Liang Painted a Storm' from the Read it Yourself story 'The Magic Paintbrush'. It's magical. I also particularly like one of the Puddle Lane pieces.

Clipped from: martingallery.webnode.com (share this clip)

Martin's main website: www.martinaitchison.co.uk