ORBIS SENSUALIUM PICTUS BY JOHANN AMOS COMENIUS Goody Two-Shoes grows up to be a teacher and marries rich, thus teaching children that being virtuous pays off. She receives her nickname when she eventually receives a full set. Goody Two-Shoes, published in 1765, is the tale of an orphan girl who was so impoverished that even a pair of shoes was out of grasp she had to make do with just one. But unless you’re a big fan of 18th-century children’s literature, you probably haven’t read the story that popularized the saying. You’ve no doubt heard the phrase “goody two-shoes” to describe someone who always follows the rules and does the right thing. THE HISTORY OF LITTLE GOODY TWO-SHOES PUBLISHED BY JOHN NEWBERY “The only job I ever tackled that I found more difficult was when I wrote the Baedeker that Eskimos use when they travel in Siam,” Seuss later said. Seuss-put his fantastical illustrations and way with words to work on a book that would help children learn basic words. The director of Houghton Mifflin’s educational division read a Life magazine article about how deadly dull young students found Dick and Jane. One good thing did come out of the Dick and Jane series, though: The Cat in the Hat. Many baby boomers grew up learning how to read with these primers, which were, by nearly all accounts, incredibly boring and repetitive. READ WITH DICK AND JANE BY WILLIAM GRAY AND ZERNA SHARP

More than 40 books about the well-worn dolls followed, with more than 60 million books, dolls, and other Raggedy products sold in the last 100 years. Raggedy Ann Stories, the first book about the doll duo, came out in 1918, followed by Raggedy Andy Stories in 1920. A few decades ago, there were few children’s bedrooms not adorned with Raggedy Ann and Andy paraphernalia.

Raggedy ann stories 1961