To enter Ladybird’s world again is to relearn a universe that is both strange yet uncannily familiar. Inevitably the books express the values of their times. In the Peter and Jane series (aka Key Words Reading Scheme), Peter tends to hang out with Daddy in the garage, while Jane helps Mummy get the tea. Fair-haired and blue-eyed, every one in the children’s world looks exactly like them, apart from Pat the dog. Ladybird: A Cover Story: 500 iconic covers from the Ladybird archives. London: Ladybird. 2014. ISBN 978-0-71819-391-1. Well, I’m a teacher and a linguist and a mother – but I don’t want to weigh into this argument except to say that it seems to me that different children learn to read in different ways. Some reading schemes suit some children, others suit other children. My own son responded well to the “look and say” method and was turned off reading by “jolly phonics”– yet I have heard very compelling research that phonics is more successful overall. So be it. All I can say is that the Key Word scheme was amazingly successful. First issued in 1964 it is still in print today – over forty years later! Some changes are fairly subtle: Here are the two shop windows of the 60s and 70s versions. Spot the difference.

The books see Peter and Jane at school, the park, the local swimming pool, in shops, and many more everyday locations. Point out these locations in the pictures as you read together. You could also mention similar places in your area to strengthen the connection between the words and their real-life meanings. Ladybird began publishing books in other formats in 1980. Most of the remaining titles in the classic format were withdrawn in 1999 when their printing facility in Loughborough closed. I wonder if the original target audinece were aware of the nostalgic, retrospective feel to them when they first came out? Perhaps there was an awareness even then that these idylic domestic tableaux were unreal and presented a world that had never existed. (Yes, I was part of that early audience, but at the age of 5, I don’t think my powers of analysis were up to the job). Or is it that those years, between the mid-sixties and early seventies saw exceptionally dramatic social change for families. Is this dramatic period of change encapsulated by the 2 versions of the books? And suddenly it has become a green-grocer’s (who has lost the collar and tie but is resplendant with quiff and impressive sideburns) and the children have transferred their enthusiasm to apples. (Did children do that in the 70s?)

The Key Words Reading scheme – or “Peter and Jane” books

The 50s styling is very important to the effect because the 50s and 60s were this time of tremendous optimism and modernity postwar,” she says. “You had the welfare state, the pill for women – a real sense of change. Humour comes when you contrast two worlds very clearly together, so I’ve taken that postwar optimism and contrasting it with this brutal nihilism that we have now. And also, on an aesthetic level, I absolutely adore that era, so it’s just a pleasure for me. joint venture with Funk & Fernsehen Nordwestdeutschland, Antenne Niedersachen and Niedersachsen Radio.

As well as the Key Words, the stories gradually introduce phonically levelled vocabulary. This combined approach of Key Words and phonics sets children up to become fluent readers and supports the way that they learn to read in school. More about the storiesThis article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. The first column shows the original 1960s version. The second column shows the first revision books produced in the early 70s and the last column shows the late 70s books, when the remaining artwork was given a makeover and the layout of the covers was changed to give the framed picure on the front. The revised books kept the colour distinction to show a,b or c books although the colour red became orange). In some Asian countries, particularly those which are also part of the British Commonwealth, the books are still widely used as a teaching aid in nurseries, preschools and kindergartens. Based on Head teacher William Murray’s system of teaching reading using key phrases and words, apparently over 80 million of us have learnt to read with them. And some of the books are still in print; I still see them for sale in my local bookshop. The Ladybird Story: Children's Books for Everyone. London: The British Library Publishing Division. 2014. ISBN 978-0712357289.

Ladybird books were originally conceived in 1915 by a Loughborough company called Wills & Hepworth. Their ownership has changed over the years, moving to the Pearson group in 1972 and then absorbed by the publishing behemoth, Penguin in 1999. Penguin’s publication of a set of satirical spoofs on its classic Ladybird books will no doubt attract a lot of attention from anyone who grew up with them in the 60s, 70s and 80s. With titles such as The Shed; The Wife; The Husband; and The Hipster, Penguin’s tongue-in-cheek “adult” Ladybirds should find a ready market among those who were given the originals as a way of teaching them to read.The tenets of the Key Words reading scheme was devised by William Murray and Jim McNally and was based on the concept that the vast majority of the language that we use every day relies on a surprisingly few ‘key words’. Murray states, indeed, that a quarter of the language that we normally read and write is made up of just 12 words and that half of our everyday language is made up of just 100 words. As Murray states in the Ladybird Book ‘Teaching Reading’: Two more characters, Simon and John, were introduced further into the series, as the books developed in length and detail to become targeted at growing children who had developed further reading skills. These two characters are cousins of Peter and Jane. The stories are fun and engaging, and Peter and Jane’s world represents life in modern Britain. From swimming to trips to the park, beach clean-ups to a street party, Peter and Jane’s antics will feel familiar and keep children entertained. The detailed illustrations support children’s learning as the pictures reflect the stories and the Key Words in the book. What to expect inside the books The Key Words scheme is based on a recognition of the fact that just 12 words make up one quarter of all the English words we read and write in everyday life and that 100 words make up a half of those we use in a normal day. Teach children these key words first, and they are well on the way to making some sense of most texts. As your child progresses through the series, they’ll become familiar with the characters who inhabit Peter and Jane’s world! If you spot a character that has appeared before, ask your child if they can remember who they are and which story they appeared in. This starts a conversation about a previous story they’ve read and encourages them to use the Key Words again, increasing their familiarity with them.