Sunday, February 12, 2012

A tribute to the classic Ladybird storybooks

I grew up reading well-loved Ladybird books such as King Arthur, Robin Hood, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp. My son is growing up with Hi-5, an iPad and YouTube.

I would like him to enjoy the stories that I read when I was growing up like him. I would like him to know what the significance of the words “Open Sesame!” and “rubbing the lamp” are. I would like him to know how Sir Lancelot of the Lake defeated Sir Turquine of the Fort in a duel, and what the “Twelve Labours of Hercules” are. I would like him to know that there was a wealth of children’s books and fairy tales long before the Internet and a purple dinosaur called Barney came onto the scene.

I would also like Ladybird UK to give me one good reason why they do not continue to print these well-loved and timeless (read: no revisions required, just re-print them as they were and in Kindle format, if that is the way to go in the 21st century) classics despite them still thriving healthily in the children’s book publishing business after all these years. As a parent of Generation X who grew up on and loved these storybooks, I believe I speak for many of my contemporaries when I appeal for the resurrection and return of these literary treasures for the sake of our children and grandchildren many of whom will grow up not knowing an iota of these wonderful tales.

The collage below is a small tribute to just some of the classic Ladybird storybooks that helped to shape my childhood, my grasp of the English language at a very early age, and my rich imagination. And for that, I have my parents to thank for instilling the Ladybird reading habit in me.




No comments: