Janet and John facts for kids
Book One first edition cover
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| Author | Mabel O'Donnell and Rona Munro |
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| Cover artist | Florence and Margaret Hoopes (illustrators) |
| Language | English |
| Series | Janet and John series (Books One to Four) |
| Genre | Children's reading books |
| Publisher | James Nisbet and Company |
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Publication date
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1949–50 |
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The Janet and John books are a famous series of early reading books for children. They were first published in the UK between 1949 and 1950. These books were among the first to use a special way of teaching reading called the "look and say" method.
The series became very popular in the 1950s and 1960s, selling many copies in the UK and New Zealand. By the 1970s, people felt the books were a bit old-fashioned. Because of this, new versions were made. Later, in 2007, two of the original books were printed again for people who remembered them fondly.
Contents
The Story Behind Janet and John Books
The Janet and John books were inspired by another series from the United States called Alice and Jerry. Those American books were written by Mabel O'Donnell and had pictures drawn by Florence and Margaret Hoopes.
In 1949, a publisher in the UK, James Nisbet and Co, got permission to print these books. They changed the name to Janet and John and made them into a series of four books. Rona Munro, who was a teacher from New Zealand, rewrote the stories to fit British English. The pictures were still by Florence and Margaret Hoopes, with some help from Christopher Sanders.
How Janet and John Books Became Popular
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Janet and John books were a common way to teach children in schools. In fact, by 1968, 81% of primary schools in Britain were using them!
These books were pioneers of the "look-and-say" or "whole word" method. This way of teaching reading focused on children remembering whole words by seeing them often. It was different from the phonics method, where children learn to read by sounding out letters and groups of letters.
Changes in the 1970s
In the 1970s, new ideas about how children learn to read started to appear. Teachers began to prefer "real books" with "real stories" that felt more natural.
The Janet and John books showed a very traditional family, which started to seem outdated. Because of these changes, the series stopped being published in 1976.
Introducing Kathy and Mark Books
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Rona Munro, who wrote the British Janet and John books, worked with Philippa Murray to create a new series. This new series was called Kathy and Mark.
In the UK, there were three sets of Kathy and Mark Little Books, each with four small books. These were published in 1973 and 1974. These new books had small pictures mixed into the text, replacing some words like 'umbrella'. Nisbet also published other Kathy and Mark books with different colors and titles.
Janet and John in the 2000s
The Star Kids Version
In 2001, a company called Star Kids Ltd bought the rights to Janet and John. They released a new version with 33 books. These books covered reading, writing, and math for children aged four to seven.
While the names Janet and John stayed the same, the stories and pictures were updated. They now included characters from different backgrounds and families. Some people didn't like this new series because it still used the "look and say" method instead of phonics.
Nostalgic Reprints
In 2007, there was a trend of reprinting old favorite books. As part of this, Summersdale Publishers brought back two of the original Janet and John books: Here We Go and Off to Play. These reprints were for people who wanted to remember their own childhood reading experiences.
