Zerna Addis Sharp was an U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, writer and teacher. She became known for creating the Dick and Jane

Dick and Jane

Dick and Jane were the main characters in popular basal readers written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp and published by Scott Foresman, that were used to teach children to read from the 1930s through to the 1970s in the United States...

 beginning readers

Basal reader

Basal readers are textbooks used to teach reading and associated skills to schoolchildren. Commonly called "reading books" or "readers" they are usually published as anthologies that combine previously published short stories, excerpts of longer narratives, and original works...

, and many other readers for children. Sharp noted the reduced reading ability

Reading (process)

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or deriving meaning . It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas...

 of children during her travels and urged a new reading format for primers

Primer (textbook)

A primer is a first textbook for teaching of reading, such as an alphabet book or basal reader. The word also is used more broadly to refer to any book that presents the most basic elements of a subject....

. 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

Subvocalization

Subvocalization, or silent speech, is defined as the internal speech made when reading a word, thus allowing the reader to imagine the sound of the word as it is read. This is a natural process when reading and helps to reduce cognitive load, and it helps the mind to access meanings to enable it to...

. The primers were sold from 1927 to 1973.

Sharp was born in Hillisburg, Clinton County, Indiana

Clinton County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,866 people, 12,545 households, and 9,057 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile . There were 13,267 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...

. She died in Frankfort, Indiana

Frankfort, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,662 people, 6,279 households, and 4,175 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,240.5 people per square mile . There were 6,682 housing units at an average density of 1,299.6 per square mile...

at the age of 91.