The cashier and the carpenter

摘要

In 1964 Ladybird Books, a British publishing company, launched a series of small picture books to help young children learn to read. They featured Peter and Jane, their dog, their house, their toys and the rest of their little world. Their dad went out to work and their mum stayed at home and looked after Peter and Jane. By the late 1970s, after a couple of updates, their world had changed slightly: dad did more things around the house and Jane was wearing jeans rather than skirts. But she still spent a lot of her time at home playing with her doll or helping mum. Peter preferred to be out and about with dad. The books are still available, but their charm is now of the vintage variety. When they were first published, families in most industrial countries were just like Peter's and Jane's.