For the oldies - Ladybird's books

My father had my Ladybird books bound together when w were living in Bangkok . That was over 60 years ago. Whether he took them with him when he went to work in Atlanta or just chucked them out(he chucked a lot of my stuff out) I don't know.

I thought I had dropped enough bread crumbs.

Yes, I still struggle with the most basic words, I used the word destroyed earlier, that took me four attempts to spell it and that was with autocorrect switched on. I just can’t see how words are put together. Writing is awkward, I start quite a few letters and numbers from the bottom. The problem is, I wasn’t taught normal English as well. 
This was my alphabet for 3 years, sorry it’s a bit blurry.

I remember ITA and our children's library had a section of books in it. Some local schools used it, but not mine. I have heard from people who learnt it that they still struggle with spelling. 

I thought the same!

Based on what you said about the cinema, I think this exhibition is near to you too... My wife and her family are mostly dyslexic.

Those books have just bought back some good and bad memories, In the early 70’s I was taken out of class every day and had my reading lessons in something called ITA English. It was a group of 4 in the cloakroom. I realise now that I most probably am dyslexic, these books really didn’t help. I got to my next school and wasn’t believed that the ITA books existed, they were all Ladybird books. Most books were destroyed after the experiment failed, any remaining copies fetch between £50 - £80.

I ended up collecting Ladybird books when my children were young, it became a bit of an obsession, or as I would now term ‘a special interest’, I had a whole large bookcase filled just with Ladybird books. The children grew older and one day  I donated the books to the local charity shop.

Oh thank you for this post

Some of the pictures brought back memories I loved these books. 

Funny to see The Computer and The Telephone pictures on front covers. I knew technology had raced on in my life but this really highlights it  

Yes! My wife and I were discussing that too, at the time. (Porridge Pot). Both of us also had the same memory of the Princess and the Pea book. She's several years younger than me, but we had a few overlaps like these.

A pleasing little synchronicity - for the first time in ages I saw a ladybird yesterday. I was sitting in a park and it had somehow alighted upon my lap. So I let it wander about a bit before safely getting it back to the grass. 'Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home...' ... and I won't say the rest as I hope its fam were all OK. 

Thanks so much for sharing those - recognised some old friends there alright. Such captivating little worlds in each, and I can still vividly recall the unique way they felt and smelled. Some of the covers that have most stayed with me are the ones with a slight sense of scary discomfort on the front (hauntology vibes, with hindsight) - like that 'magic porridge pot' lady's look of abject horror at the unfolding calamity's moment of genesis. 

This thread made me smile.

Thank you for posting the photos.

I remember the Ladybird Books, with a cassette narration, in the Eighties.

That's lovely. I guess that you are a little older than me. I didn't have any, but used to read as many as I could in school.

I liked the information books as a child and I remember having some of the fairy tales. I sometimes bought one if I was given money. I believe before decimal currency they were 2/6.

I lived by the sea so often used the sea and seashore life for identification. I liked the simpler ones as I could read them. I used to like making things so I used the Things to Make one for years and I think later they did a more things to make. I always thought they were good because you could get one on almost any subject and they were relatively cheap.

Yes, they are funny. Great Christmas stocking fillers.

I like the modern Ladybird books for adults, things like The How It Works series, The Cat, The Husband, The Wife, which I bought for my friends as a pre wedding present.