Tim to the Rescue

A 1001 CBYMRBYGU.
I came away from this old story of Tim, a child who goes off to sea, with several observations:
1. Parents were more lenient in the old days. Tim was allowed to go off to sea as long as he promised to study when he wasn't working.
2. There is a surprisingly large amount of text in this book for a picture book. I am reminded of the Robert McCloskey books which were published around the same time, which also had large chunks of text. Was that the norm at the time?
3. Once upon a time, children's books were composed of adventures. Not so much any more. Why don't children have adventures any more?