Old reading books turn over new leaf

By REBECCA WALSH and NZPA

Run, John, run - and don't come back.

Revamped versions of the Janet and John reading books, dropped from New Zealand schools in the early 1960s because they were too boring, are making a comeback in Britain.

But the books, which have drawn criticism from British reading experts for ignoring phonics - the relationship between sounds and letters - are unlikely to return to New Zealand schools.

The Janet and John known to children around the world during the 1950s to 1970s have undergone a makeover, thanks to English publishers Star Kids.

John has ditched the white ankle socks and lace-up shoes for trainers and baggy trousers. Janet has huge pink bovver boots.

Mum and Dad are also more upbeat. The family have Asian and black friends, and instead of visiting farms, go to the swimming pool and car boot sales.

The original series, written by New Zealander Rona Munro, was discontinued in Britain in 1976 as educationists developed new theories on how children learned to read.

The books were used in New Zealand schools in the 1950s but were replaced in 1963 with the Government-sponsored "Ready to Read" series.

Dr Libby Limbrick, head of the Centre for Language and Languages at the Auckland College of Education, said the old books were boring and not relevant to New Zealand children's lives.

"I would wonder why any school would want to buy a revamped Janet and John when there is such a wide variety of books being published in New Zealand."

Children's writer Beverley Randell said the problem was not so much that the earlier books were repetitious, lacked New Zealand content or "did or did not use phonics," but the story content itself.

"They were basically poor stories, without climax, without satisfactory endings and often without content that grabbed children ... " she said.

It appeared the new books had tried to correct some of those problems. But the typography and some of the stories were difficult to follow. It seemed the only similarity with the old books were the names Janet and John.

Professor Tom Nicholson, of Auckland University's School of Education, believed one of the best features of the earlier books was the "strongly controlled" vocabulary.

A spokeswoman for Star Kids said the storylines had been modernised. The books were designed for parents teaching their children at home.

The Ministry of Education is not considering bringing the books in.