Dick and Jane: We Play Outside

I read the Dick and Jane books in the mid 1960’s. I was 5 years old then. It was part of the reading curriculum in school. How I just love the characters: Dick, Jane, Sally, and Spot. The books inspired me to read because it made reading so easy. You see sight words repeated from page to page. Yes, the book is, like, Dr. Seuss. I bought Dr. Seuss books for my daughters to read. I was not impressed with the books. The Dick and Jane books are the ones I wanted to get my hands on. At the time, the internet did not exist.Then, I had my first grandchild. I watched Marie one weekend and thought about her reading level. She was 5 years old then. I thought, I need to get my hands on the Dick and Jane books. I bought one book. I said, “Here you go, Marie. Do you want to read the book?” She opened the book and started reading. There were words here and there that she did not recognize. I was thrilled. Marie was at a good reading level for her age and the book made it challenging for her. I bought an additional 7 Dick and Jane books.My oldest daughter, Tanisha, has 4 kids. Marie is the oldest and Jack is the second oldest. Jack also read the Dick and Jane books. Well, my youngest daughter, Marlena, has two boys. Marlena asked Tanisha if she can borrow the Dick and Jane books. Marlena has two boys, age, 4 and 2. While Tanisha retrieved the books from the shelf, she told Marlena, “I want these books back”. She told Marlena this three times. Tanisha told Marlena, “I have two younger kids (2 and 1 year old) that will be reading the books.

I must say, I was disappointed when I ordered this title. If you own the hardcover called "Life with Dick and Jane and friends", then don't order this book. This book is under a different title, but has the exact same stories in it. My son loves Dick and Jane, and we have all the huge hardcover books that Walmart sells, and this book has all the same stories in it. I was excited when I found this title, thinking it was something new, and that my son could continue reading from their books, but to my surprise, it's the same stories throughout. Exactly the same. I decided to keep this book, but to give as a classmates birthday gift that's in my son's class. I learned one thing, if you can't see the inside of the book, don't buy it, unless you know for sure what's in it. Other than this disappointment, Dick and Jane are wonderful books for children to learn to read. My son has excelled since learning to read these over the summer. He is now in the first grade, and is starting to read third grade levels. Don't get me wrong, these books are wonderful. But if you own some already, be careful about buying books that you can't thumb through, just to make sure you're not getting what you already own at home.

This was the 4th of the hardcover Dick and Jane compilations that I purchased for my daughter. The first three were challenging and had a lot of words on each page. This one had a lot less written on each page and was a lower level reader than the other three, which we loved. This one is going back. I wish it was consistent with the level of the others which otherwise appear to be part of the same series.

Learned to read on these books and bought them for my granddaughter. She loves them!

This book is so easy to read. Not comparable to any other books - it goes to super aimple to harder sentences and my son loves reading it by himself.

Kids love it - we recommend it !!

Being a 63 year old grandfather of six makes me somewhat of an expert on what works and what doesn't. Besides bringing back warm memories of days gone by, this book captures and holds the attention of those yearning to read for themselves. Reading can be hard, frustrating work, or reading can be fun. Guess which keeps the little ones involved for longer periods of time? And a tip for you parents who want your four year or five year old to read proficiently, don't push or pressure. They will self-engage as soon as their hearts and minds are ready. The careful coordination of pictures and repetition of words makes Dick and Jane outstanding teachers in their own right. These are a perfect adjunct to phonic reading.

Was one of the first reading books I read as an infant in first year of school, enjoyable then and just love having them as a reminder

Excellent for first time readers. My 4 year old daughter actually learned to read with the Dick and Jane book collection.This selection is at the beginners level with only a few words per page. Once completed we moved on to the other books in the collection that are a little more challenging.

My 5 year old daughter loves Dick and Jane books and it is helping to build her confidence in reading by using familiar sight words.

These are great books. I was very happy with my purchase. Really helped out my granddaughter.

taste of the past