By The Free Press | Created at 2026-10-09 14:45:36 | Updated at 2026-10-16 07:24:52
6 days ago
How Grown-Ups Ruined Picture Books
Adults have lost confidence in children’s capacity to make meaning on their own.(Najlah Feanny/Corbis via Getty Images)
Once upon a time, picture books told children’s stories. Then parents decided they were the main audience.
Produced by ElevenLabs using AI narration
Max sailed off, in and out of weeks and almost over a year, for the land of the Wild Things. In The Snowy Day, Peter went out, alone, into the city. In Blueberries for Sal, a little girl wandered off on a hillside, mistook a bear for her mother, and lived to tell the tale.
Once upon a time, picture books told children’s stories. Not anymore.
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