The first rule in all our dealings with children is not to talk down to them, and this is especially true in selecting their pictures. Nothing is too good for them. Some pictures may treat subjects beyond a child’s comprehension, but none are beyond him in artistic excellence. The best children’s pictures were not made for children at all. Only the illustrators of children’s books have consciously addressed a juvenile audience. The great masters worked in obedience to their own heavenly vision, and it is one of the tests of success when a picture appeals equally to all ages and all sorts and conditions.
Pictures are primarily intended for pure æsthetic joy, and it is a thousand pities to assume a didactic tone in showing them to children. Let them be, like the stories we tell, among their dearest delights. Above all things else we must avoid mechanical methods of instruction as the most deadly blight to the imagination. We cannot be too careful lest the child’s perception be dulled by prosaic influences, or his taste vitiated by unworthy material. For the imagination is the key by which we unlock the doors of beauty. While the divine gift is still unspoiled, the child is most keenly alive to the joys of life.
