# Are The "Dick and Jane" Readers Still In Use? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2010, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930 "2010-05-27T11:10:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/21 "2010-05-27T22:49:43Z")
Did Ireland have its own version of these books with one of the lead characters named Tara? I seem remember them from school, mostly because I went to school in Northern Ireland, but somehow we ended up with what I’m pretty sure were books with a [Guarda](http://www.garda.ie/) running around shouting “Hey, hey” at the kids :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/22 "2010-05-27T23:31:59Z")
Two of my children learned to read partly because of Dick and Jane books. They are great for reading because they repeat so much. Sounding out words can get very discouraging for kids. With the Dick and Jane books my children would only have about five new words in a story, maybe one a page if that. It allowed them to practice their phonics skills without getting tired of reading. They could learn a word so well it was sight read, but still get their phonics practice. They were perfect, allowing my children to increase their reading skills by leaps and bounds in less than a week. I introduced the Dick and Jane books after they had learned to sound out a word and had the most frequent words learned by sight, eg. the, and, for, etc. I also introduced the Dr. Suess early readers at the same time, but found Dick and Jane to be better for very beginning readers. I taught my kids to read through a combination of phonics and sight reading. I found it worked very well and all my children enjoyed reading at a young age. To answer the question: I don’t know if schools use the books beyond stocking them in their libraries, but I used the books and was glad they were there. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/23 "2010-05-27T23:37:52Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Sorry, you were whooshed like a Sputnik going by overhead. > > [I was parodying a certain well-known poster.] No, I knew what you were doing. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/24 "2010-05-27T23:59:02Z")
We used the Buffy and Mack books, Buffy was a panda and Mack was a rabbit. Wow, whatta nostalgia trip! ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/25 "2010-05-28T00:32:02Z")
When I was taking a German class, the teacher gave us readers with Ina und Udo in them. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/26 "2010-05-28T01:57:09Z")
Why not _Dick and Jane and Zombies?_ See Jane. See the Zombie. See Jane see the Zombie. Scream, Jane, scream! Run, Jane, run! Trip, Jane, trip! Feed, Zombie, feed! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/27 "2010-05-28T02:53:07Z")
What happened is [Dr. Seuss supplanted Dick and Jane.](http://www.cracked.com/funny-4835-dr.-seuss/) ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/28 "2010-05-28T03:34:13Z")
Anyone else read “Jack and Janet”? And “Tip and Mitten”? ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/29 "2010-05-28T03:39:19Z")
In the UK we had “Janet & John” books publlshed by Ladybird. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930/30 "2010-05-28T17:27:12Z")
Then there was _The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives in Dick and Jane: A Study in Psychic Transrelational Gender Modes_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dick-and-jane-readers-still-in-use/540930.md?page=1)