Ladybird Books in the spotlight at Charnwood Museum

The rich history of Ladybird Books in Loughborough and their connection to the generations of people who love them, will be explored at an exciting free event at Charnwood Museum.

Taking place on Thursday 14 November as part of a national arts festival, the 'Secret History of Ladybird Books' is a day-long series of events featuring story-telling sessions, talks by experts and volunteers and a short walking tour. 

As part of the celebrations, Loughborough University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities is working with Charnwood Museum, Charnwood Borough Council, Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteers and the County Council to capture people's memories of Ladybird books.  

At the event, visitors will have the opportunity to bring along their own Ladybird memorabilia and share their memories or personal connections to the iconic books, which were produced and published in Loughborough from 1914 to 1999.

It could be any link to Ladybird - a family member who worked at the factory, someone who collected the titles, a special memory or meaning attached to one of the books.  

Ladybird Books are fondly remembered by generations of people, including me, who read them as children. I would encourage everyone who has memories of these wonderful books to visit the event or share their memories as part of the #LoveLadybird project.

Person:Richard Blunt, cabinet member for heritage, leisure and arts

Some of the connections will be made into a short film, which will be shared on social media and all the footage will go into the national Ladybird Books archive at the University of Reading. It will also be kept for future generations at the Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland, and the collections at Leicestershire County Council.

The event is being held as part of the national 'Being Human Festival of Humanities', led by the University of London’s School of Advanced study in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. 

To share your memories as part of the #LoveLadybird project, please contact Louise Sharples from the Community Curators team on louise.sharples@leics.gov.uk to book a space, or for more information visit www.charnwood.gov.uk/charnwood_museum