Ladybird Books
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Ladybird Books is a London-based publishing company that produces children's books. "Ladybird Books" was originally a brand name of the Wills & Hepworth publishing company of Loughborough, but the company changed its name to "Ladybird Books" in 1971. Ladybird became part of Penguin Books in 1999, and the Loughborough factory closed.
The brand's symbol, a red ladybird with black dots, was registered in 1915. One of the earliest titles was the ABC Picture Book. The pocket-sized 56-page hardback books for which Ladybird is now famous began in 1940 with Bunnykin's Picnic Party. In the 1960s, Ladybird produced the Learnabout series of factual books, some of which were used by adults as well as children. In 1964, Ladybird started the Key Words Reading Scheme, still used today, which used a reduced vocabulary to help children learning to read.
The brand is so well known in Britain that many adults refer to "The Ladybird Book on ..." as a metaphor for the most rudimentary written introduction to a given subject.
Ladybird Books website (http://www.ladybird.co.uk/)