Which Ladybird books should I collect?

How many Ladybird series are there?

Which Ladybird books are the rarest?

Which Ladybird books were reprinted in facsimile editions?

What does the series number mean?

What does the Tally number mean?
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Originally, a delightful collection of 18 books containing stories told in rhyme.

Later, 4 additional books were added to this series.

 

 

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Originally, this series contained 11 books including nursery rhymes, fairy tales and story books.

Later, at least 7 additional books were added to this series.

 

 

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This series contains 6 wonderful books about a koala named Wonk!

 

 

 

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Series 455

This series contains 6 factual books presented by ‘Uncle Mac’.

 

 

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Series 474

This series contains 6 books about Tasseltip the rabbit!

 

 

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Series 497: Originally, a lovely selection of 10 books, all of which were animal stories.

Later, 6 additional books were added to this series about a hamster called Hannibal and a further 6 books about Tasseltip the rabbit. The Tasseltip books were a re-working of the original stories from series 474.

 

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Series 522: This series originally contained 10 books, all of which were religious stories.

Later, 2 additional books were added to the series.

 

 

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This is one of the larger series containing 14 books originally and later an additional 13 books.

All the books were based on nature topics.

 

 

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Series 538:

This series was unusual in that it contained only one book!

The book is exceptionally scarce and sought after!

Series 549

This series contained two stories, both relating to the infamous Robin Hood!View Series

Series 561: This is the largest series that Ladybird produced.

The series was called ‘Adventures from history’. Each book contained a mini biography of someone influential from history.

Originally the series contained 19 books. A further 31 books were added to the series after dust wrappers were discontinued.

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Series 563:

A delightful series for younger readers containing 9 books. 

 

 

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Series 584:

This series of 6 books was mostly concerning transport.

However, several of the books were reprinted with different covers or contents making it a surprisingly difficult series to collect!

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Series 587:

A nice collection of six books about travel. 

 

 

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Series 601:

An interesting collection of 27 books discussing the achievements of man.

 

 

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Series 606A: An ‘easy-reading’ series.

This is the second series that Ladybird produced based on the bible.

Ladybird Series 606B: People At Work.  An ‘easy-reading’ series.

A lovely collection of 20 books discussing the everyday life of various workers. Only the first 6 books were produced with dust wrappers.View Series

Series 606D: An ‘easy-reading’ series.

This popular collection of fairy tales has delighted countless children and parents alike!

The series originally contained 27 stories, although many additional books and edited versions were later produced. Only the first book was roduced with a dust wrapper.

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Series 606E: An 'easy-reading' series.

A collection of 3 books discussing the important nationalised industries of that time.

Series 606F: An 'easy-reading' series.

This series contained only 2 books which looked back through the ages at the progression of man with regard to food and transport.

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Series 612:

A nice collection of 3 books looking at traditional prayers and hymns for children.

Series 618: 

This series only contains one book about the city of London .

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Series 621:

A lovely collection of 12 science books for juniors.

Series 622:

This series contains only one item which was an ABC book for very young children. 

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Series 633:

An interesting collection of 24 books about things to make and do! Published between 1940 and 1980.

Only the first book was produced with a dust wrapper.

 

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Series 634:

The 'Learnabout' series of over 30 titles.

Some titles were borrowed from other series, or reprinted from previous series.

 

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Series 641:

Commonly known as the Peter and Jane books.

The Key Word books were devided into 3 grades: A, B and C, with each grade having 12 books.

 

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Series 644:

This series contains two informative books about religious customs and celebrations.

Series 649: This series contains 5 books about biblical history.

 

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Series 651:

This series contains 9 books about nature including plants, animals, birds and insects.

 

 

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Series 654:

A great collection of 14 books about 'How It Works'.

This is an informative series giving the science behind much of our modern technology.

 

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Series 661:

A small series containing just 4 books about numbers.

 

 

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Series 662:

A delightful collection of 7 books about music and the performing arts.

 

 

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Series 663:

A short series containing only two books which detail the history of Britain from earliest times to our present day.

Series 671:

This series contains only one book about understanding maps. View Series

Series 678:

An educational collection of four books about basic mathematics.

Series 682:

A series containing just two informative books about dogs and horses.View Series

Series 691:

A super collection of 7 books about mammals from different regions.

 

 

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Series 701:

A collection of books about great artists.

 

 

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Series 702:

A collection of 5 books.

 

 

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Series 704:

A collection of 5 picture books.

 

 

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Series 706:

A collection of 4 books that look at Cub Scouts, Scouts, Brownie Guides and Girl Guides.

 

 

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Series 707:

A collection of 4 books that look at Pirates, Cowboys, Indians of the Western Plains and The Battle of Little Big Horn.

 

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Series 708:

A collection of 3 books that look at the lives of Madame Curie, Charles Darwin and Michael Faraday.

 

 

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Two series.

Each series contains only one title.

Series 721: Picture Reading 

Series 724: Making A Transistor Radio.

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Series 727:

A collection of 10 books about conservation.

 

 

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Series 731:

A collection of 2 books on 'How to Do It'.

Series 733:

Only one title appeared in this series about The Stars and Their Legends.

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Series 737:

A collection of 39 books, covering a vast range of topics.

 

 

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Series 740:

A collection of 7 books covering Aesop's Fables, The Arabian Nights, Famous Legends and Gulliver's Travels.

 

 

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"Once upon a time there was a little girl called Cinderella. Her mother was dead, and she lived with her father and two elder sisters…"

Do you remember sitting up in bed as a little tot determined not to fall asleep as you listened to your favourite story being read to you? Maybe it started with the words 'Mrs. Bunnikin was darning, with a stocking in her hand; In came Bunnikin, her youngest, said "A picnic would be grand!"'.

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You can't beat a Ladybird book!! A comment made in Rose's Books recently and one with which many people would agree. Well written, well illustrated, with just enough information to help any child who is learning to read or doing a school project (and not just in pre-computer days!)

 

With our big stock of Ladybird Books that come through Stella and Rose's Books, we often see which titles are most popular by how long they stay on our shelves.

A title that appears to not stay on our shelves very long is that of 'Tootles The Taxi and Other Rhymes' written by Joyce B. Clegg and illustrated by John Kenney. This being the case, I wondered why this book was so popular and sat down to read it myself.

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The other day, I was handed some new Ladybird books that had come into our possession and was thrilled to see five of the six titles in 'The Adventures of Wonk' series.

This series, number 417, was the third series undertaken by Wills and Hepworth in their now familiar small Ladybird format. The books were all written by Muriel Levy ('Auntie Muriel of Radio fame' as it states on the title pages - see below right) and illustrated with beautiful and vivid full colour pictures by Kiddell-Monroe. Wills and Hepworth published them between 1941 and 1948.View Article

With many rhyming stories and fictional tales in their repertoire, Ladybird Books started adding educational titles to their ever expanding series of books for children.

Included among these educational titles are the four 'What to Look For' books in the 536 (Nature) series. These titles see the pairing of experienced biologist and writer Elliot Lovegood Grant Watson and famous illustrator Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe. The series explores all four seasons, and the changes and exciting events that could be observed during each season.

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Having recently come to know more about Ladybird books in general, I have been amazed at the great interest still shown in Series 561 - 'Adventures From History'.

There appears to be a variety of reasons why this series in particular continues to be so very popular today. Many people still like to collect each title as part of their full Ladybird books collection. Sometimes parents will come and buy copies for their children if, perhaps, they are doing a school project on a specific character from history. Others just prefer the simple but informative style that Ladybirds use, so that they can learn about different periods of history quickly and easily.View Article

A delightful, descriptive story in verse. Originally written and illustrated by A.J. Macgregor, the verses in this Ladybird book were later revised by Walter Perring.

Bunnikin's Picnic Party tells the story of little Bunnikin and his brothers and sisters, Loppy, Fluff, Bobtail and Whiskers. Bunnikin decides one day that 'A picnic would be grand!' With their picnic all prepared by Mrs. Bunnikins, the four bunnies hop off to enjoy some fun near the 'shady woodland'.

Bobtail comes running to them when they are wood gathering 'Her excitement was intense: "Robbers, Fluff!" she stammered, breathless, "I could hear them, by the fence!" But brave Fluff finds out it's not robbers but a sleeping Pig!View Featured Book

This was the fifth series to be produced by Ladybird books - series 474. Six titles were published between 1947 and 1953, with the first three being published together in May 1947 - something that can cause confusion to collectors of first editions.

The original stories were written by Dorothy Richards and illustrated by Ernest A. Aris. Ernest Aris was a prolific illustrator not only of books, but also cigarette cards, seaside postcards and jigsaws. He had also designed a series of lead figures called the Cococubs which had been given away by Cadbury's Cocoa. Amongst the many woodland figures that he had drawn, there were several rabbits who bear a resemblance to Tasseltip.

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This pony story tells of a very discontented pony named Merrylegs. Even though having everything a little pony needs - a field to run about in, a kindly farmer owner and farmyard friends Daisy and Squeaker -Merrylegs still begins to feel discontented with his lot in life.

After hearing stories about his great-great-grandfather who had been a great race horse, Merrylegs begins to think that "he was much too well-born to work".

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The enchanting story of Cinderella is weaved through the childhood of generations of children regardless of culture or language. What young girl did not dream of wearing sparkling gowns and dancing with a prince who would instantly fall eternally in love with her and whisk her off to his castle? The ending is perfect... 'And so Cinderella and the prince lived happily ever after.''