Every year there are around 100,000 new books for kids published. Amazingly, all but one percent of these are of little literary value. When we refer to literary value as seen in children’s books, we don’t mean that all of these books aren’t gems penned by the likes of Mark Twain or Katherine Paterson. What we mean is that there is an endless parade of little mermaid remakes and Disney follow ups. Yes, these books have a market value and will make plenty of money for their publishers. But will they leave a child with any lasting joy?