Ladybird books peter and jane

For this was the first title in the Ladybird Key Words books, in which a brother and sister and their affectionate spaniel Pat explored the pleasures of a suburban childhood. For millions who grew up in the Sixties and Seventies, these books, with their beautiful illustrations and clear, simple language, were their introduction to the world of reading. Abandoned by his own father, it spurred him on to a discipline of self-improvement that continued right up until his recent death at the age of In the Sixties, the Ladybird book How It Works: The Motor Car was given to police officers as they abandoned their push-bikes in favour of patrol cars. In the Seventies, the Ministry of Defence ordered copies of The Computer for staff trying to demystify this brave new technology, and in the MoD supplied troops bound for the Falklands with copies of Understanding Maps to improve their orienteering skills. This might come as quite a surprise to those familiar with the Peter and Jane books, in which Jane always seems to be helping Mummy with the housework or bathing her dolls, while Peter enjoys carpentry and cars. That was not the only difference between his own life and the cosily calm world, uninterrupted by anything as unhappy as divorce or rowing parents, that was portrayed in the books.

Key Words with Peter and Jane uses the most frequently met words in the English language as a starting point for learning to read successfully and confidently. The Key Words reading scheme is scientifically researched and world renowned. Book 2b is all about the things Peter and Jane like, and introduces 27 new words including 'you', 'want', 'look' and 'jump'. Once this book has been completed, the child moves on to book 3b. The Key Words with Peter and Jane books work because each of the key words is introduced gradually and repeated frequently. This builds confidence in children when they recognise these key words on sight also known as the 'look and say' method of learning. Examples of key words are: the, one, two, he.

The Key Words Reading Scheme is a series of 36 English language early readers children's books , published by the British publishing company, Ladybird Books. The series are also often referred to as Peter and Jane , the names of the main characters. The first book in the series, Ladybird series , was published in , and the series was completed by the first publication of the 36th book in Over 80 million books in the series have been sold worldwide, and the books remain in print in The books were designed as materials for teaching a small child to learn to read, using a system of key phrases and words devised by teacher William Murray. Murray was an educational adviser at a borstal and later headmaster of a "school for the educationally subnormal" in Cheltenham. From research undertaken in the s by Murray with Professor Joe McNally , an educational psychologist at the University of Manchester , Murray realised that only 12 words account for a quarter of the vocabulary used in normal speaking, reading and writing in the English language , words for half, and words for three-quarters.