Light, Mirrors and Lenses

Historical Significance: An introduction to light, mirrors and lenses for children, the text includes covers basic experiments involving light and includes sections on the eye and spectacles.The Ladybird Book series originally consisted of 4 titles and was written by F E Newing & R Bowood. The illustrations were by Harry Wingfield. They introduced simple scientific experiments to young children and were a perfect introduction to science. The Ladybird logo was registered in 1915. The Ladybird format never changed - 56 pocket-sized pages, text on the left (with age-appropriate language, font and spacing) and, crucially, a full-page colour illustration on the right, always carefully designed to hold the gaze of a child.The key person here was Douglas Keen, who joined the company in 1936 as a salesman before leaving to serve in the second world war. At this point, Ladybird was a sideline produced by a Loughborough publishing company, Wills & Hepworth, better known for its glossy motoring brochures. Paper shortages and government rationing of all literature except children's books led them to create the Ladybird imprint of pocket sized books. Source: The Guardian 3-7-2015