Eileen Clarke

It's time for the annual assessment of who's been naughty and who's been nice. And regarding the latter, we ask, Who cares? The naughties are lots more fun, at least on the page. For years, kids have delighted in the dastardly deeds of characters like Eloise and Dennis the Menace, so we thought we'd add some fresh faces—and we do mean fresh—to the mix. In case you're wondering: Some of the little scamps get their comeuppance, some don't—but rather than beating readers over the head with a message, isn't it better to let them figure out right from wrong for themselves? Henry Spawns from The Horrid Henry series by Francesca Simon; illustrated by Tony Ross (Sourcebooks, $5; ages 7 to 10)Naughty behavior The British bad-boy ruins Miss Impatience Tutu's recital when he knocks over all the dancing vegetables and raindrops, and makes an entire campground's tents collapse when he uses the wooden pegs to feed the campfire.Frequent victim His younger brother, the aptly named Perfect Peter, whom Henry never wastes an opportunity to push, pinch, shove or throw peas atTrash talking To the scariest babysitter on the block: "If I see you or hear you or even smell you, you'll be sorry you were born."Learns lesson? No way. He's as horrid in the eighth (and counting) sequel as he was when he debuted. David Spawns from The No, David! series by David Shannon (Scholastic, $17; ages 2 to 5)Naughty behavior Typical toddler stuff: tracking mud on a cream carpet, making a puppet out of dinner, pickin