HOT on the heels of the welcome return of Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men comes a new look for more long time children's favourites.

Remember the chant "This is Janet. This is John". Who can forget it? They set millions of infants on the reading road.

The storybook twosome have shed their 50s pretty dresses and short trousers to become cool kids. They have been updated to reflect today's youngsters in trainers and T shirts.

The books were dropped by schools in the 70s because teachers didn't think they reflected life at the time and were too tame.

Now the comeback kids are trendy, with friends from different ethnic backgrounds.

I'll never forget reading them in Mrs Marsden's class at St Paul's, Westleigh, and can thank her for putting me en route to becoming an avid reader of fact.

It's gratifying to know that educationalists have decreed that what was good enough for us, with a little jiggling about, is good enough for the children of the new century.