lit
Original: lit on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1
Caption: KIDS' LITERATURE OF THE PAST:
A stern man in old-fashioned formal dress with a tall top hat and a frilled collar: "Children must have realism, not fantasy, so that they experience real emotions and develop a sense of morality and duty."
Panel 2
Caption: KIDS' LITERATURE OF THE PRESENT:
A smiling woman: "Children can use fantasy as a vehicle to develop a sense of moral imagination, fellowship, and their place in the universe."
Panel 3
Caption: KIDS, THE ENTIRE TIME:
A happy child reading a book: "There are unicorns and the unicorns are magic HOORAY!"
Votey:
A grumpy man wearing a tall top hat speaks; reflected in the dark band of the hat is a small landscape silhouette: "I'm generically medieval or maybe early modern? From somewhere in Europe? I don't know."
Caption: KIDS' LITERATURE OF THE PAST:
A stern man in old-fashioned formal dress with a tall top hat and a frilled collar: "Children must have realism, not fantasy, so that they experience real emotions and develop a sense of morality and duty."
Panel 2
Caption: KIDS' LITERATURE OF THE PRESENT:
A smiling woman: "Children can use fantasy as a vehicle to develop a sense of moral imagination, fellowship, and their place in the universe."
Panel 3
Caption: KIDS, THE ENTIRE TIME:
A happy child reading a book: "There are unicorns and the unicorns are magic HOORAY!"
Votey:
A grumpy man wearing a tall top hat speaks; reflected in the dark band of the hat is a small landscape silhouette: "I'm generically medieval or maybe early modern? From somewhere in Europe? I don't know."
Alt text
A three-panel SMBC comic contrasting how adults theorize about children's literature with how kids actually read it. Panel 1, captioned 'KIDS' LITERATURE OF THE PAST,' shows a stern man in a tall top hat and frilled collar declaring that children must have realism, not fantasy, so they experience real emotions and develop a sense of morality and duty. Panel 2, captioned 'KIDS' LITERATURE OF THE PRESENT,' shows a smiling woman saying children can use fantasy as a vehicle to develop moral imagination, fellowship, and their place in the universe. Panel 3, captioned 'KIDS, THE ENTIRE TIME,' shows a delighted child reading a book and shouting, 'There are unicorns and the unicorns are magic HOORAY!' The joke: regardless of how grown-ups frame it, kids just enjoy the magic. Votey aftercomic: a close-up of a grumpy man in a tall top hat (echoing the stern man from panel 1) muttering, 'I'm generically medieval or maybe early modern? From somewhere in Europe? I don't know.' poking fun at the vague historical styling of such authority figures.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.