I've seen a lot of these children's books about technical topics. Is there any record of an actual child reading any of them? And, as children do with good books: reading them more than once? (Excluding children in the author's family.)
I have read about 10 of these "children's books about programming" and while I enjoy them myself, I find that they lack most of the things that grab children's attention, such as repetition and visual-only sub-plots.
This is not to criticize the use of an illustrated fable as a storytelling device for adults: They're great! It's just sad that we have to frame an illustrated fable as "for children" in order for it to be accepted. I think it says something about how content dictates and narrows the expected presentation format, sometimes to the detriment of clear communication.
I have read about 10 of these "children's books about programming" and while I enjoy them myself, I find that they lack most of the things that grab children's attention, such as repetition and visual-only sub-plots.
This is not to criticize the use of an illustrated fable as a storytelling device for adults: They're great! It's just sad that we have to frame an illustrated fable as "for children" in order for it to be accepted. I think it says something about how content dictates and narrows the expected presentation format, sometimes to the detriment of clear communication.