Are they age limits or age recommendations? If you look at toys they have a suggested age on them (ie. "safe" for ages 1-3). From a parental standpoint it would be helpful when choosing a children's book to know if it would fit your child's age level. But from a reader's standpoint age & reading comprehension don't always match.
It seems more like yet another attempt to protect our endangered children from experiencing life before their fragile minds are ready for it. And yet another way for lazy parents to let someone else decide what's appropriate for their children without checking it first themselves.
Just because a book should appeal to a certain age group it doesn't mean it should be pigeon-holed for just that age group. Like the Harry Potter series - it appeals to multiple age groups yet the first couple were marketed only to kids. Whose to say new releases would fit into the age group they're specified for?
Books already have an uphill battle with current marketing just with category assignment - this is a romance, this is a western, this is science fiction, etc. Adding an age guideline would narrow the market even further.
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