Piggy Pile: Dick and Jane and Spot and Molly and Pete and Ginger

In the early 1900s, American textbooks were dreary things, wordy and mostly without illustrations. For the most part, they consisted of either literature excerpts or Bible stories.

By the 1920s, publisher Scott, Foresman and Company had hired the nation's foremost reading authority, William Gray, to develop books that children wanted to read. They were full of large color illustrations, simple words that were part of children's vocabulary, and most importantly - filled with activities that the children could relate to.

It was in this environment that Dick and Jane and Spot were conceived in thought in 1927 by Zerna Sharp. Hired by Gray to develop a family of characters, Sharp worked with teams of writers, editors, illustrators, and psychologists over the years. Dick and Jane first appeared in 1930 and made their exit in 1970. They were at their peak of popularity in the 1950s when 80% of American first graders learned to read with Dick and Jane books.

Every five years, stories were revised and illustrations were updated to reflect changes in clothing, household furnishings, and cars. This is the family in the 1960s. Jane and Sally look pretty much like they always did, but Mother, Father, and Dick look way different, in my opinion. (So do Grandmother and Grandfather, but they're not shown here.)

That bothers me. It's like when there were two Darrens on Bewitched or two Carols (Ross's first wife) on Friends. Or weirdest of all, when Roseanne had First Becky, then Second Becky, then First Becky came back.

Spot was originally a terrier because that was the most popular breed in the early 1930s. In 1936 there was a different best-selling dog, so Spot changed his spots and morphed into a cocker spaniel. Thankfully he stayed that way.

Jane wore at least 200 different outfits based on clothing from Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs. Many of her dresses looked similar to this dress I found at a garage sale last year. I bought it from a woman who was a child in the 1950s; she said it was one of her doll's dresses.

I found this ball at the same neighborhood sale. It is very similar to one that Dick and Jane would have played with.

One of my favorite Dick and Jane stories is "Who Wants a Toy?" It's a morality tale about being satisfied with what you have. Dick and Jane and Sally are looking in the window of a toy store. Sally sees a red duck she wants. Dick and Jane tell her she has a yellow duck at home and Sally decides she doesn't need the red one.

Then Jane sees a doll that can talk. This is more of a temptation, since a talking doll is an upgrade. Dick and Sally point out that she has two dolls at home. Jane decides she has all the dolls she wants.

Finally, Dick sees a red boat and wants it. Jane and Sally remind him he already has a yellow boat. He decides to go home and play with his yellow boat.

How many of us have that much restraint and good judgment when "window shopping"? I know I don't.

Through the 1950s, everyone in the books was happy and well-behaved. The children shared, they were kind, they were responsible. Mother and Father had no reason to scold or correct them. None of us believe that children were like that all the time. But it was nice to see good behavior modeled.

So I'm not sure why the teams of educators and psychologists decided to introduce bratty behavior. How do you intrepret this picture? Were Sally and Puff playing with the ball first, and Dick came along to take over? Or was Dick playing with the ball first, and Sally decides she wants it? Either way, this type of tension wasn't in earlier books. And Ronald Reagan, oh sorry - I guess that's Dad - in the background isn't going to stand for it.

Due to the success of Dick and Jane books, competing textbook companies came up with their own versions. Molly, Pete, and Ginger are new to me. This book, a recent acquisition, was published in 1955 and made its way to a local school's library in 1956.

Maybe the reason it's lasted so well over 57 years is because it didn't see a lot of use. It looks like Lynne, Dean, and Scott each signed their own name on the card. My theory is that the librarian signed Donna's name for her. After the third time, she told her "just keep the darn thing!" And it stayed with Donna until I found it.