With the recent beginning of a new school year, many of us remember back to a
most memorable event that happened in our lives way back when we were in the
first grade. We were introduced to a little book called a Dick and Jane reader.
From this little book, we were going to learn to read! No longer would we have
to wait for Mom or Dad to read the comics or story books to us.
We would soon be able to do it ourselves!
The Dick and Jane readers entered the American classroom in the 1930s. They were
printed in bright watercolors and featured a world of green grass and blue
skies, and a happy, idyllic family: brother and sister Dick and Jane, baby
Sally, Mother and Father, Spot the dog and a kitten named Puff. Grandmother and
Grandfather lived on a farm some distance away, but came to visit the family
every so often and, of course, they were known to bring nice birthday presents.
A visit to the grandparents
’ farm was an exciting time for the family as Dick, Jane and Sally learned about
farm life. On every visit to the farm, something exciting happened.
The Dick and Jane books, with their simple vocabulary and repetitious phrases,
were developed in the late 1920s and were part of American education programs
for more than 40 years.
Children loved these books. Not only were they colorful with large print, but
the stories were full of humor, action, climaxes and suspense.
Even though many children learned to read through the Dick and Jane books, as
American culture changed, many educators felt that the reading programs in the
schools needed to be updated to more closely reflect family life and structure
as it was evolving in the 1960s. The last issues of the Dick and Jane books
were sold through 1970. Then an entirely new reading system came into being.
Just like many other treasures from the past, Dick and Jane are gone, but not
forgotten! No, we don
’t have any copies of Dick and Jane books at Cypress Top Historic Park, but you can see many other
treasures from the past here.
Cypress Top Historic Park is located at 26026 Old
