Ladybird Books

It was in 1915 that Wills & Hepworth published their first children's book under the Ladybird imprint. From the beginning the company was identified by a ladybird logo, first with open wings and then later from the 1950's the closed wind version. Wills and Hepworth began trading as Ladybird books in the 1970's as a direct result of the brand awareness and recognition.

Ladybird Book Evolve

The familiar mini hardback ladybird book (four-and-a-half by seven inches/11.5 cm by 18 cm) was produced in 1940 for a series of animals stories. Early books had 56 pages with its size perfectly economical with no waste from the printing or cutting process. Ladybird continued to print many books in this format including travel, hobbies, history and nature. But in 1999 the factory in Loughborough that specialised in this format was closed ending the production of this format.

Ladybird continues to produce many children's books under Penguin name, check out some below.