Vintage Dick and Jane readers
In a previous post I talked about things I collect.
Well, I have another one: old readers. I particularly love the classic Sally, Dick, and Jane series from the 1950’s-60’s. I’ve been blessed to pick up several of these old books at garage sales for a quarter a piece! At flea markets, I’ve seen some editions priced at more than $50!
Also, years ago, when a teacher at our local school was cleaning out her classroom, I was offered some of these treasures for FREE. (I did make a generous donation to the PTA the time.)
So what is it that fuels our interest in some of these old books? Is it the pictures?
The gentle walk with nostalgia? The simple, first words of our youth? The colorful illustrations?
Perhaps, it’s the complex plots and subplots. Uh…NOT. To that one anyway.
Thumbing through the few primers I have, the plots were far from complex.
Usually, Sally, Dick, and Jane engaged in everyday activities—fun stuff like visiting new friends, fun on the farm, playing with Happy, the dog.
To young minds, these stories came alive just like those books written by children’s authors do today.
I’ve discovered there’s something to be learned from the gems I’ve collected.
A youngster’s reader isn’t much different from what we, as adults, have come to relish from a great book. Besides sharpening our vocabulary skills, books have to hold our interest. All the complex plotting and subplotting in the world isn’t going to cut it unless it’s all pulled together by a great story. And sometimes simple stories, vividly told, are the ones we remember.
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Questions for you to ponder…
Do you have favorite books from your childhood—ones that take you back to your youth?
What makes them great stories?
Blessings Always,
Comments 2
Oh! I wore OUT a set of Little House on the Prairie books. I also read Heidi about 78 times–sometimes aloud with my mother, sometimes on my own. As an adult I periodically go back and read childhood classics. I read the Anne of Green Gables series for the first time in my 30s–what a treat! And Narnia is always great for a return visit. I think it’s incredibly valuable for writers to read these “simpler” stories–sometimes I think we grown-ups can get a little too complicated . . . !
Author
I, too, loved the Little House on the Prairie books, Sarah! I also loved the Trixie Belden mystery series, which were similar to Nancy Drew who-done-its.