Picture Books Run Wild

Picture books have come a long way since the illustrated Aesop’s Fables. Sure, kids still read about The Tortoise and the Hare and The Boy Who Cried Wolf, but the moral tales of yesteryear have given way to a new breed of bedtime stories.

Popular children’s books like Olivia by Ian falconer and Constance and Tiny by Pierre Le Gall depict a world with few rules, no consequences, and lots of childish fits. Unlike the frazzled parents and minders from classics like Curious George and Where The Wild Things Are, many of today’s picture book parents don’t punish their children. They simply respond to bad behavior with a hug and a beleaguered “I love you.”

Daniel Zalewski noticed the trend while picking out books for his own kids. He’s features editor for The New Yorker, where he wrote about the rise of unruly children in picture books.

The New Yorker: The Defiant Ones

(Photo by pawpaw67 via Flickr/Creative Commons)