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Comment by jamessb | Hacker News Reader

The prompt [1] didn't fully transfer to the generated story.

This is an important part of the prompt:

> she had too much butter. Because of that, things got slippery.

> Until finally she opened the first ever butter theme park.

But the generated story doesn't say that the layer of butter in the kitchen was slippery, or explain that butter in general is slippery (and hence could create "slippery slides"), which make the idea seem like a bizarre jump:

> Sparkles was sorry for her mischief, and offered to help Penelope turn the butter back into bread. But Penelope had a better idea.

> Together, they opened the first ever butter theme park

[1]: https://adventure-of-penelope.vercel.app/credits

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Then again, “things got slippery” can be used metaphorically; and that meaning did appear in the story (mischievous Sparkles).

Well it’s a kids book. So I’m not sure it should be heavy on metaphors.

It’s really not great though. On the last page the hedgehog becomes huge.

And it makes no sense. Why was there too much butter? Why was some random girl in the house. How does butter make bread disappear? Why is one character a hedgehog and the other a human girl?

I'm of the opinion that all kids books should be heavy on metaphor and allegory and all of the other important and joyful aspects of language. Restricting children to books that have been "written at their level" or "made easy to read" is doing them a disservice. It's no wonder so many people grow up to be seldom readers if their first exposure to reading is saccharin pablum that presents no challenge, no meaning, no mystery, and no danger. A proper children's book should be one which an adult can also read and enjoy if they give way to that childlike wonder that still lives within them.

Yes, indeed! Children have a huge capacity for stories that engage their imaginations, creativity, and open sense of wonder. And, I think if we're honest, kids are often more honest critics than adults.

Author of "A Wrinkle in Time" Madeleine L'Engle said, "You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children."

You sound like you’ve never read a book to a small child or tried to get a new reader interested in a book long enough to finish the book.

> Why is one character a hedgehog and the other a human girl?

Stories with animals that act as humans are a trend spanning from antiquity (Aesop) or earlier (myths) that just never went away (e.g. Guardians of Galaxy).

Figuratively. Not metaphorically.

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