Ladybird - Pre 1960

The Ladybird series that began prior to 1960 are some of the most popular produced by Wills & Hepworth.  Their tales can still bring a smile to all who read them.

Please click on the images to see the books in their series

Pre 1940s Ladybird Wills & Hepworth were printers in Loughborough. They occasionally produced a variety of large children's books. The books were large and thick. They contained a few full colour pictures but the majority were line drawings. Animal Rhymes Series 401 Series 401 was Wills & Hepworth's first Ladybird book series. There are 20 titles in this series which date from 1940. Fairy Tales & Rhymes Series 413 Series 413 was Wills & Hepworth's second Ladybird book series. The first title, "Nursery Rhymes" was published in 1941. There have been 17 titles published in this series. Adventures of Wonk Series 417 Series 417 was Wills & Hepworth's third Ladybird book series. There were 6 titles published in this series which dates from 1941. They were originally published with dust-wrappers. Tasseltip Tales Series 474 The Tasseltip Tales was a small series of six books which dates from 1947. They were all written by Dorothy Richards and wonderfully illustrated by Ernest A Aris. The books follow the woodland adventures of a very lively rabbit called Tasseltip. Animal Stories Series 497 The Ladybird Series 497 consisted of 11 titles dating between 1949 and 1955. there was then a break of 20 years before the Tassletip books joined the series. These were then joined by the Hannibal books in 1976. Religious Stories Series 522 This series of 12 titles tell stories from the bible. These books were very well used by many a Sunday School. Nature Series 536 These popular books have wonderful illustrations accompanied by easy-to-read text. There are 27 titles in the series which dates from 1953. History Adventures Series 561 This series of 49 books dates back to 1956. The books looked at the lives of many great men and women from history. It covers stories about Kings, Queens, leaders, explorers and great civilisations. Learning to Read Series 563 This series of 9 books was planned by an expert to help children in the early stages of reading. Recognition Series 584 This was a small but popular series of 6 titles which examined different types of transport. It did also include Book of Flags. Travel Adventure Series 587 This is a Ladybird series of six books dating between 1958 and 1962. They explored travelling to other countries by air and showed what you could expect to find there.