A NEW set of stamps featuring images of the popular Ladybird books that helped generations of children learn to read has been issued by Royal Mail.
Front covers of books ranging from Piggly Plays Truant and Tootles The Taxi to Things We Make and Tricks And Magic are included.
Titles from the Key Words Reading Scheme and Early Tales And Rhymes are featured – as are popular books from Adventures From History; Well-Loved Tales; Hobbies And How It Works; People At Work; Nature And Conservation and Achievements.
The small-sized children’s books most strongly associated with the brand were first published in the early days of the Second World War.
Their format – 56 pages printed on both sides of a single piece of paper measuring 40 inches by 30 inches – was the result of wartime paper shortages and proved a winning formula.
Thomas Merrington, creative director at Penguin Ventures – part of Penguin Random House, said: “We are always looking for new ways to bring the Ladybird Books Vintage Collection to wider audiences.
“The original illustrations are an icon of British design and this stunning collection of stamp products from the Royal Mail will make a beautiful addition to collectors and fans of Ladybird Books.”
Royal Mail spokesman Philip Parker said: “Reading Ladybird Books became something of a rite of passage for children from the 1950s onwards, and our new stamps celebrate the iconic series that generations have loved and grown up with.”
The 1950s to 1970s are regarded as the golden age of Ladybird Books and the publisher built up an unrivalled library of more than 650 titles.
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