Ladybird Books

Wills & Hepworth began trading as Ladybird Books in 1971 as a direct result of the brand recognition that their imprint had achieved in Britain.

[4] This series of 36 small-format hardback books presented stereotyped models of British family life: the innocence of Peter and Jane at play, Mum the housewife, and Dad the breadwinner.

[5] Many of the illustrations in this series were by Harry Wingfield, John Berry, Martin Aitchison, Frank Hampson and Charles Tunnicliffe.

[6] The Ladybird offices and printing factory in Loughborough closed the same year, and much of the company's archive of historic artwork was transferred to public collections.

[11] The series follows a trend of other spoof Ladybird books including We Go to the Gallery by Miriam Elia who had previously been threatened with legal action by Penguin.

The books in this series are not parodies, but instead use the classic format to serve as clear introductions to a wide variety of subjects, generally in the fields of science and history.

[14] The first book published and the inspiration for the series is Climate Change by the Prince of Wales, Tony Juniper and Emily Shuckburgh.

[14] Four more titles were released in 2017 by Jim Al-Khalili (Quantum Mechanics), Steve Jones (Evolution), James Holland (The Battle of Britain) and Ben Saunders (Shackleton).

Angel Yard, Loughborough.
Ladybird Books green plaque, Angel Yard, Loughborough.