They depict families going about their lives in very realistic and lifelike images. Each page has a large illustration that takes up about three-fourths of the page. The pictures have a fair amount of detail but are simple enough to be understood by early readers. The one drawback to these illustrations it that they are all fairly similar. They depict the same families in similar situations over and over again. Beginning readers may find them boring and monotonous after awhile. On the other hand, one of the positives about this book is that pictures clearly show what is happening in the story often filling in gaps of the narration. For example, on one page the narration reads, “ Jan said, ‘oh, oh! Help! Help!.”The picture shows Jane struggling with her jump rope because her dog spot is tugging on it. (“Dick and Jane” 15) This direct interplay between the illustration and narration gives clear clues to guide early readers and also allows nonreaders to understand the gist of the …show more content…
In the time period that this book was written gender roles were very different from what they are today. Women were homemakers and did almost all of the housework while fathers worked outside the home. Girls always wore dresses and were supposed to play with dolls while boys played sports. These ideas are clearly seen throughout this book. The girls all wear dresses, the mothers are usually in the kitchen, and the boys are the ones playing sports. Many adults and children might find these ideas objectionable today. In our world, today gender roles look very different with both men and women taking on many various roles within the home and in the workforce. These stereotypes are definitely something that adults should consider before giving these books to