The Adventures
of Wonk is one of the most sought-after series of books by Ladybird
collectors.
Each book can command at least £100.00 on the collector's
market.
There were six titles in series 417 which followed the adventures
of a Koala Bear called 'Wonk'.
Each
book was made up of two short stories and were written by "Auntie"
Muriel Levy, who retold Cinderella and the Sleeping Beauty for
the previous series, 413.
All six
books were wonderfully illustrated by Kiddell-Monroe and were
a world apart from the later house-style for which Ladybird
are so well know.
The Circus and The Secret were also published in French language
and called Le Cirque and Le Secret.
All six books were published with dust wrappers and had illustrated
endpapers - the boards had a design on the front panel and came
in various colours.
The inner pages were glossy as was common with series 413 and
417.
There were a few
reprints of each book but unlike most other early Ladybird books
these were never produced in the later matt edition (post 1965).
Today it is very difficult to find one of these titles complete
with it's original dust wrapper and if you are fortunate enough
to stumble across any of the Wonk books, be prepared to spend
serious money! Unless you are extremely lucky expect to pay
at least £100 for each edition - if they are true first
editions be prepared to pay quite a bit more. Copies without
their dust wrappers can be picked up for anything between £15.00
and £60.00, depending on condition.
