Here’s an excerpt from our upcoming book THE VERY BEST AND WORST: BOOKS AND LITERATURE.

Let us know what you think, if you can stand the heat.

• THE VERY WORST PRE-SCHOOL BOOKS

The Wishing Tree — Teaches children that unconditional love is best repaid with an axe.

10 Little Ladybugs — Innocent ladybugs are murdered and consumed in the wild, until they all meet on the last page in heaven.

Goodnight, Moon — A bedside staple for over half a century now, this book inarguably works its magic with kids. But Margaret Wise Brown cannot be forgiven for wishing good night to a bowl of defamed oatmeal, nor for leaving it to brown and harden on the table all night long.

Miffy — androgynous rabbit is unmoved by any event or experience

• THE VERY BEST PRE-SCHOOL BOOKS

Olivia — Subtle humor and whimsy, courtesy of artist/writer Ian Falconer, that is as enjoyable to parents as kids

Where the Wild Things Are — Encouraging kids to have imagination, get their ya-ya’s out, and chill out at dinner time

The Cat in the Hat —Thing 1 and Thing 2 are introduced in iambic pentameter. You can’t beat that with Shakespeare.

The Little Engine That Could — life lesson in an enduring metaphor

Categories to come:
Best/Worst Opening Lines
Best/Worst Nemeses
Best/Worst Book Titles