The Wonderful World of Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups

Much like My Little Golden Books…but for adults!

It is delightful. My sister will love this when I give it to her since we have fond memories of Ladybird books, especially the illustrations.

I thought this would be a collection of stories but it’s just a book of “how we came up with this story” Not interesting and not amusing!

I assumed and was hoping this was a collection of the hilarious adult Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups but instead it is mostly a collection of cover art with some moderately funny commentary that seems to rely heavily on British cultural references making it even less funny for overseas customers like myself.

We keep a few of the little ladybird books for grown ups in the loo, but this one has pride of place on the coffee table! I love it. The larger style format has allowed Hazeley and Morris to give as many or as few pages as they like to each of the gags, which are all the funnier for it. Whenever I dip into it, this book never fails to make me laugh.

When the Ladybird Books For Grown-Ups first appeared I loved them, but I confess that after the first couple of batches they started to lose their appeal, and I stopped buying them beyond the first ten or so. When I heard that they were bringing this final book out I wasn't that bothered about it as I thought it might just be a compilation, but when I read the description and actually saw the book in a shop I decided to buy it. Thankfully, it's an absolute treat. From the beginning of the series, one of my favourite things about the books appeared on the back cover of each - a list of fictitious other books in the series, many of which produced belly-laughs which the actual books themselves failed to bring. This book - a large, thick hardback - is essentially a compilation of the covers of Ladybird Books For Grown-Ups that didn't actually appear, but many have fake interior pages too, and there are spoof letters between an author and Ladybird scattered through the text, along with some passages of text explaining aspects of each of the books. It's hugely enjoyable, and the sort of book that if you're reading it in the same room as other people you'll inevitably end up showing pages to them on a regular basis. I absolutely loved this book, and it seems as though they've saved the best Ladybird Book For Grown-Ups until last.

The people who have given this one star reviews and were ‘disappointed’ really have missed the point! It isn’t a compendium of the other books for the thrifty, it’s a stand-alone piece of fun with loads more cheerfully loopy spoof titles/covers/text/trivia, not a compendium of the other books. Also, It’s about the size of an old hardback Eagle or Beano annual and blinding value for the laughs you get out of it.