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 other three titles were Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries, Levers Pulleys and Engines, and Air Wind And Flight.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