Guardian 2001
Janet and John have come out of retirement to help a new generation of young readers. But is revamping this joyless series really such a good idea, asks children's author Francesca Simon.
I learned to read on Janet and John's American counterparts - Dick and Jane, and their dog Spot. This was in the early 60s, and these dour books did the deed tediously and joylessly.
See Spot. See Spot run. Run Spot run. My heart sinks just writing the sentences.
No one who had to read those phrases over and over and over as I did could ever forget them. Like a bad pop lyric they echo round your head, all that seeing and running - a strange, stilted, dreary 50s world of prissy children, perfect parents, and hyperactive dogs. And God forbid there should be characters, or a joke or a rhyme. Learning to read was a serious business - and don't you forget it. And woe betide the slow learner. My husband couldn't read until he was 8 or 9, yet was stuck with Janet and John regardless.
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