I was pathetically pleased over the weekend to come across an absolute favourite story book of mine from when I was a child.
I was visiting my parents for Easter and have occasionally had a look for this particular set of story books but never found them. Anyway, my sister somehow knew where they were so (under the eves, accessed through a tiny door down the side of my brother’s bed) and dug them out for me.
There was two in particular that I loved – The Magic Paintbrush, and The Magic Stone, for reasons I hope become apparent. I loved the illustrations as well – done by Martin Aitchison. Mr Aitchison has his own website where he also sells original illustrations. I note there is a Magic Painbrush one there for £300.
I am also pleased to note that you can buy them secondhand and online – cost between £1.50 and £3.
The books are copyright Ladybird and were adapted by Fran Hunia from traditional children’s tales from across the world. Since it was about 20 years ago that I read them, I am going to do a terrible thing and scan the pages and put them here for everyone to enjoy.
If Ladybird is unhappy with this, please email me and I’ll happily pay a reasonable fee each time this page is accessed. Anyway, here is the first half of the The Magic Paintbrush.
Part II of the adventure can be found here. And third and final part is here.
Hey, thanks so much for putting up the pics of the book on your page. The magic paintbrush was my favourite book as a kid and it’s fantastic to see it again and get the same feelings from the incredibly emotive artwork as I did when I was young, so much so I was getting shivers remembering how much it fascinated me. Thanks again, M.Regan 27