Dick and Jane were the main characters in popular basal readers written by Zerna Sharp that were used to teach children to read during the 1930s through the 1960s. The main characters, Dick and Jane, were a little boy and girl. Supporting characters included Baby (or Sally), Mother, Father, Spot the dog, Puff the cat, Jack the clown, and Tim the teddy bear. They first appeared in the Elson-Gray Readers used in the 1930s. In the 1950s, 80% of first graders were using Dick and Jane in the classroom. The books relied on sight reading (or "whole word reading") and repetition, using phrases like, "Oh, see. Oh, see Jane. Funny, funny Jane," and they ignored phonics. For this reason, they came to be used less and less as studies supported phonics as a more effective method of gaining literacy. Basal readers are textbooks used to teach reading and associated skills to schoolchildren. ... Zerna Addis Sharp (August 12, 1889 - June 17, 1981), U.S. author, writer and teacher. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby boom from returning... Sight reading is reading and performing a work of music without having seen it before. ... Repetition is the occurrence of an event which has occurred before. ... Phonics is the study of the way in which spellings represent the sounds that make up words. ... Literacy is the ability to read and write. ...

Many people objected to the idealized, white-picket-fence family on which the stories centered. Black characters were not introduced until 1965, when Dick and Jane books were already declining in popularity. In 1955 Rudolph Flesch criticized the Dick and Jane series in his book, Why Johnny Can't Read.

First editions of the books are now worth as much as two hundred dollars. The books were reissued in 2003 and over 2.5 million copies were sold, but this time the publishers had warned against using them to teach reading to children. Related merchandise, such as shirts and magnets, also gained wide popularity, particularly among people who had never been exposed to the original series but were familiar with catch phrases like "See Spot run!" 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The title of one of the books, Fun with Dick and Jane, inspired a 1977 film of the same title, and its 2005 remake. Fun with Dick and Jane is a 1977 romantic comedy film starring George Segal and Jane Fonda as an upper-middle class couple who turn to crime. ... Fun with Dick and Jane is a 2005 movie, a remake of a 1977 film, about an upper-middle class couple who turn to crime. ...

See Also

• Literacy

Literacy is the ability to read and write. ...

Sources and External Links

• Sample pages from Dick and Jane readers
• An article in USA Today.
• Tag N Wag Children's Books