A recent essay in the New York Times has been stirring up a storm in the blogosphere. It suggests that picture books are going the way of the dinosaurs. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/us/08picture.html?_r=2
It's hard to know where to begin on such a wrongheaded article, but here's a start:
1) Hardback picture books are expensive. In our own economic hard times, wouldn't you expect that sales would be down and publishers shrinking their offerings?
2) Parents who discourage their offspring from reading picture books--who drive their 3 and 4 year-olds to all-text chapter books to prepare them for high status preschools--are paying more attention to trends than their kids. If you want to build readers, cut them some slack and let the young go where their interests lead.
3) Ignorant adult think picture books are a form of candy and simple. How many times do we need to revisit this know-nothing assumption of the opinionated? Well, to begin, once again:
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