Zerna Addis Sharp (1889 - 1981)

Born 12 Aug 1889 in Hillisburg, Clinton County, Indiana

Ancestors

Died 17 Jun 1981 at age 91 in Frankfort, Indiana

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Margaret Garner [send private message]

Biography

Born
(1889 Aug 12) Hillisburg, Johnson Township, Clinton County, Indiana. ^[1]

Summary
Zerna Addis Sharp was a US author, writer and teacher. She became known for creating the Dick and Jane beginning readers, and many other readers for children. Sharp noted the reduced reading ability of children during her travels and urged a new reading format for primers. She suggested that primers introduce a word at a time to new readers, and the Dick and Jane primers adhered to this format. The names "Dick" and "Jane" were chosen because they were easy to sound. The primers were sold from 1927 to 1973.

Excerpt from the article: Dick & Jane Books Were Created Along the Shores of Lake Michigan
So simple but how memorable these books are to anyone who learned to read with these. Michigan elementary schools relied on these primers with simple words that kids from the age of 2 could understand.

It was along the shore of Lake Michigan that the idea for Dick and Jane books was hatched. Zerna Addis Sharp, an Indiana schoolteacher, was walking along the Lake Michigan beach when she noticed children playing nearby. She watched how the kids interacted with each other, how they spoke and played. That gave her the idea for the type of children’s book she was looking for. She wanted the characters ‘Dick & Jane’ to act in her books like the children she observed. She came up with the names – ‘Dick’, ‘Jane’, and ‘Sally’ - easy ones that kids could relate to – and the connections became relatable with kids all across the country. Oh yeah, and don’t forget their pets: Spot the dog and Puff the cat. ^[2]

Family 1
Parents
• Charles Sharp, 1869–1915
• Charlotte "Lottie" O. Smith Heady, 1871–1959

Siblings

1. Rush B. Sharp, 1893 - 1985
   
2. Gertrude Sharp (abt. 1896 - 1899)
3. Maurice K. Sharp, 1898–1956
   
4. Leah Kathryn Stuart (born Sharp) ^[3]

Occupation
Zerna was a reading consultant and elementary school teacher, in Laporte, Indiana. She contacted William S. Gray, and presented her ideas for her books.

Zerna joined Scott, Foresman and Company in 1924.

For about 30 years Ms. Sharp was a Scott, Foresman & Company textbook editor located in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Sharp retired from this well-known publisher in 1964. ^[4]

Additional information:
Sharp designed the format and content, selected the storylines from ideas that others submitted, and oversaw the illustrations. Sharp’s Dick and Jane characters made their debut in a series of readers authored by Gray and William H. Elson. After the Elson-Gray series ended in 1940, Sharp's characters continued in a subsequent series of primary readers that were best known as the "Dick and Jane" readers.

The Dick and Jane reading series taught reading as well as American middle-class values to school-aged children. The storylines described the lives and experiences of a stereotypical American middle-class white family in a two-parent suburban home that included three children and two pets. These story lines came under criticism in the late 1950s and 1960s as families, roles, and culture became more diverse. Increasing social changes made the characters of Dick and Jane seem increasingly irrelevant to larger segments of the population. Scott Foreman made changes in their readers in the 1960s in an effort to keep the stories relevant. They continued to be sold until 1973 and used throughout the 1970s; however, they were eventually replaced with other reading texts. Regardless, Sharp’s beloved characters had become cultural icons for several generations of children. ^[5]

Death
(1981 Jun 17) Frankfort, Clinton County, Indiana, USA ^[6]

Burial
(1981) Whiteman Cemetery; Michigantown, Clinton County, Indiana, USA ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Source: Famous People Throughout History
   MyHeritage.com [online database], MyHeritage Ltd.
   https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10826/famous-people-throughout-history
   Record: https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10826-211974/zerna-sharp-in-famous-people-throughout-history
   Zerna Sharp
   Citation: Zerna Sharp
   Description: American Writer
   Birth: Aug 12 1889 - Hillisburg, United States
   Death: June 17 1981
2. ↑ Article by John Robinson Published: September 21, 2020 URL: https://99wfmk.com/dick-and-jane/?fbclid=IwAR1ZHx3mBv-x6o0_USqUXtPRxwGVMr72_Qd1Jdhwa3nypJIu2Opdrw_uYGI&utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
3. ↑ Source: FamilySearch Family Tree Under license to MyHeritage.com [online database], MyHeritage Ltd. https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-40001/familysearch-family-tree
   Record: https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-40001-1510681725/zerna-addias-sharp-in-familysearch-family-tree
   Zerna Addias Sharp
   Citation: Zerna Addias Sharp
   Birth: Aug 12 1889 - Hillisburg, Clinton, Indiana, United States
   Death: June 17 1981 - Frankfort, Clinton, Indiana, United States
   Death: June 19 1981 - Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States
   Parents: Charles Edgor Sharp, Charlotte O. Smith
   Siblings: Rush B. Sharp, Gertrude Sharp, Maurice K. Sharp, Leah Kathryn Stuart (born Sharp)
4. ↑ Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerna_Sharp
5. ↑ Blog post: http://indianaplaces.blogspot.com/…/august-12-1889-zerna-sh… Zerna Sharp, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerna_Sharp Annual Obituary, 1981. Janet Podell Thomson Gale, 1982, pg. 396.
6. ↑ Source: U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI)
   MyHeritage.com [online database], MyHeritage Ltd. https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10002/us-social-security-death-index-ssdi Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration
   Record: https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10002-45077955/zerna-sharp-in-us-social-security-death-index-ssdi
   Zerna Sharp
   Country: USA; State: Indiana; Township: Frankfort
   Citation: Zerna Sharp
   Birth: Aug 12 1889
   Death: June 1981
   Last residence: Frankfort, Indiana 46041, USA
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images: Zerna Addas Sharp; BIRTH 12 Aug 1889; Hillisburg, Clinton County, Indiana, USA DEATH 17 Jun 1981 (aged 91) Frankfort, Clinton County, Indiana, USA BURIAL Whiteman Cemetery Michigantown, Clinton County, Indiana, USA MEMORIAL ID 99141679 Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99141679/zerna-addas-sharp : accessed 28 February 2022), memorial page for Zerna Addas Sharp (12 Aug 1889–17 Jun 1981), Find a Grave Memorial ID 99141679, citing Whiteman Cemetery, Michigantown, Clinton County, Indiana, USA ; Maintained by Linda Carey Schultz (contributor 47560626) Burial Details Unknown.