100 Scope Notes Year In Review: The Best of the Best of the Best (Part 1)

Part 1: Picture Books (Fiction)

Well, it’s done. I picked over every single year end list I could get my hands on. From the big names (Horn Book, School Library Journal) to the names which carry lesser weight in the children’s lit world (Miami Herald anyone?), no list went un-poured over (see below). I noted which books appeared on these “best of” lists in painstaking detail. Tabulations were made. Was the process scientific? Nay. Could another librarian take a broad sampling of year-end lists and come up with different results? Yep. Is the resulting list still worth a look? I believe it is.

When the dust settled, there were some great books left out (“17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore”, “Grumpy Bird”, “The Incredible Book Eating Boy”, to name a few). The goal of this exercise? To determine which books received the most love in 2007, and possibly start formulatin’ some Newbery, Caldecott, and Geisel predictions along the way. It’s the 100 Scope Notes Best of the Best of the Best. Today, Aught 7’s Most Loved Picture Books (Fiction).

Let me tell you, it was a very close race. First, we have the contenders:

“Pssst!” By Adam Rex.

“Pictures From Our Vacation” By Lynn Rae Perkins.

“A Good Day” By Kevin Henkes.

“Orange Pear Apple Bear” By Emily Gravett.

“At Night” By Jonathan Bean.

“Fred Stays With Me” By Nancy Coffelt.

“Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity” By Mo Willems.

But one book edged out all the others.

The Best of the Best of the Best Fiction Picture Book of the Year is:

“Leaves” By David Ezra Stein.

Not flashy, but consistent. “Leaves” garnered more notice than any other picture book on our list.

Stay tuned in the coming days for more 100 Scope Notes Best of the Best of the Best.

Best of 2007 Lists Consulted:

Washington Post
Hudson Booksellers
LA Times
Horn Book
Kansas City Star
School Library Journal
Amazon
Publisher’s Weekly
Parent’s Choice
New York Times
Miami Herald
Kirkus Reviews
TIME

(Did I miss one? Let me know in the comments!)

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