Janet and John Books

In 1949, Janet and John were supposed to be average English kids, living a typical English life. Their unexceptional middle-class existence was the basis of a series of books designed to teach 4-7 year old children to read, progressively incorporating and repeating key words in the development of reading skills. By the 1970s, Janet and John’s straightforward world was seen as being hopelessly outdated, and they fell out of favour, but remained as icons in the minds of the generations who had grown up with them.

The revamp Janet and John received in 2001 is very illuminating. The only thing that hasn’t been updated about the brother and sister team is their names, a nostalgic hook to encourage parents and teachers to take a look at the new series. Nowadays, characters come from a wider range of ethnic backgrounds and not all are in nuclear families, Janet likes to play football, and modern technology makes regular appearances. However, Janet and John are still best remembered by the numerous parodies and references to the simple style and old-fashioned cultural outlook that defined the earlier series.