About the Author

Brian Alderson has written many articles and monographs on the history of children's books, most recently a study (with Andrea Immel) of the first English nursery rhyme book, Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (2013); (with Felix de Marez Oyens) Be Merry & Wise: Children's Books in Britain before 1850 (2006); and Edward Ardizzone: A Bibliographic Commentary (2003). Lorraine Johnson gained a doctorate with her thesis on the history of Ladybird Books.