I was recently sent an enquiry regarding Cinderella. It brought to my attention the number of versions Ladybird published and, unless I am mistaken, this 'title' is the most multiplicitious in the SF collection.
The original Cinderella was first published under series 413 in the 1940s. It had a wonderful 'glossy DJ'., retold by Muriel Levy and illustrated in that distinctively simple yet sophisticated linear style of the 40's by Evelyn Bowmar.
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The next version to appear was as the first title in the original 606d 'Well-loved tales ' series published in 1964, written by Vera Southgate, illustrated by Eric Winter and provided with a dust-jacket - as far as I know, the only title in 606d to have had a DJ. It was later up-dated without the DJ. The revised 'Well loved tales' 1983 included Southgate's interpretation but was illustrated by Brian Price Thomas. The 'read it yourself' series also included Cinderella, written by Fran Hunia with new illustrations by Price Thomas in 1975. Later it sported a revamped cover which took it through the 80's. In the nineties the 'read it yourself' series underwent two more design changes. Meanwhile Disney produced no less than three versions, starting in 1985. It was slightly modified for the later Disney D202 Easy readers. In 1996 another Disney film-book version appeared. |
Finally we have the 1993 'Favourite tales' series, with a Cinderella attributed to the original author Charles Perrault and illustrated by Jon Davis. So there's at least a dozen Cinderellas out there!