William S. Gray (1) (1885–1960)

Provides inadvertent documentation of the sexism, and deception, involved in "teaching" small susceptible children. The author does acknowledge the fact that most children "hate poetry". The selection is one reason why. Largely drivel over pointless events that are not real in a child's life.

I just do not think a child is so young that "widdy-widdy-wurkey/ Is the name of my turkey" [11] is worth memorizing.

Of the best, of course, nothing beats a clever child's verse:

Old Quin Queeribus--
He show more loved his garden so,
He would n't have a rake around,
A shovel or a hoe.

For each potato's eyes he bought
Fine spectacles of gold,
and mufflers for the corn, to keep
Its ears from getting cold. [262] Zodiac Town, Nancy Turner

And there is plenty of Lewis Carroll, Blake, Mother Goose, Conkling, De la Mare, Dickinson, Farjeon, TS Eliot, Frost, Milne, Lear, Rossetti, Sandburg, Stevenson, Turner, Wynne, and some Shakespeare and Yeats. With Indices of Authors and First Lines. show less

Well now I know what all the fuss is about. Yes, the family is awfully WASP, and, yes, good readers will want to rip through this in about 2 days and move along ahead of the class. But it sure does beat the little morals on the slates that children like Laura Ingalls had to struggle through. Still, I don't see the value for today's children - only for scholars.

30 months - Dick and Jane was the first book I could read by myself. My grandmother was a school teacher and she had a first edition of the book that she gave me. It was very exciting to be able to read something without help! I remember we loaned the book to my friend Cory and never saw it again. I always wished I had that book. Anyway, I came across this treasury at the thrift store and just had to buy it for O for when she begins to read on her own.

What I'd really like to know is how many people started reading with these at school???? In hindsight I find it ironic we were using these repetitive & simple books and at the same time being taught to write copperplate with nibs and ink.
I wish I could find an original cover picture which was a green cover, but have found an inside page illustration and another of the series original covers "Look and See". (click under the image - 2 more photos) to see them.

You can see most of the covers show more for the Dick and Jane series here;
http://www.juliascollectibles.com/DJ50.htm
It's a shame my copies were thrown out a few years back. ;( Going by the prices on the above site, they are worth collecting. show less