Not So Much Fun with Dick and Jane

By the time Morrison was writing The Bluest Eye in the mid-60s, Dick and Jane had been under criticism for years.  But Pecola, whose story is set around 1940, would have experienced the readers at the height of their popularity.  It is estimated that by the early 1950s some 80% of American school children had been introduced to the book series.

From our vantage point, it's easy to see what's problematic about these characters:

"Dick and Jane live in a suburban house surrounded by a white picket fence. Mother cheerfully does the housework. Father wears a suit to work and on weekends mows the grass and washes the car. Dick, the oldest of three, is well behaved and always in motion: bicycle-riding, kite-flying or playing fetch with Spot. His sister Jane is pretty and lighthearted and helps care for their baby sister, Sally, while never upstaging her brother. Illustrators chose her stylish and frilly wardrobe, updated about once every five years, from the catalogues of Sears, Roebuck & Company and Montgomery Ward." 
(Gabriel, Trip. “`Oh, Jane, See How Popular We Are.’.” New York Times, vol. 146, no. 50569, 3 Oct. 1996, p. C1.)

More about Dick and Jane can be found at this blog.  

For next week's discussion, or for commenting below, I'm wondering:

• How do you feel about Morrison's use of Dick and Jane as a frame to the novel?  Is it effective?
• If you used the Dick and Jane series as a student, what are your memories?  
• What are your experiences finding reading materials for children in your lives?  Do you visit children's libraries or bookstores often?  How difficult is it for you to find materials that you believe are meaningful for your child?