Awful Library Books

The Baby Boards
A Parents’ Guide to Preschool and Primary School Entrance Tests
Robinson
1988

The tag line on the bottom says “Teach your 3-to 5-year old the skills need to win admission to selective early schooling programs.”  I am simply aghast at the idea of testing babies! Did I miss something along the way? Okay, maybe this appeals to that super-parent that uses the library, but why on earth is it a 1988 edition? (In other words, if you are going to have this kind of test book, at least make it current!)  I have a whole diatribe about testing kids, No Child Left Behind, and decay of education, but I will save it for another time. On a personal note, as a new mother, I worried all the time that my kid wasn’t doing the kid thing according to the schedule laid out in books. This kind of stuff would have just fueled my anxiety as a parent. Good thing I missed this title in my library wanderings when I had preschoolers.

Also as a side note, I cannot stand how this library stuck stickers and barcodes in places blocking off title information.  Am I the only one who likes minimal (and tidy!) book processing?

Mary