SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • *Best New Books*
    • Annual Best Lists
  • Reviews
    • One Star Review
    • Nonfiction
    • Toon Reviews
  • Articles
    • Authors
    • Link Du Jour
  • Covers
    • Covering the Newbery
    • Cover Curiosity
    • Unfortunate Covers
  • News
    • Books on Film
    • Morning Notes
  • Newsletter

December 16, 2007 by Travis Jonker

100 Scope Notes Year in Review: The Best of the Best of the Best (Part 3)

December 16, 2007 by Travis Jonker   8 comments

trophy.jpg

Part 3: Middle Grade Fiction

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The 100 Scope Notes roundup continues today with a look back at middle grade fiction. In case you missed the recap of fiction and non-fiction picture books, let me explain. I’ve taken every year-end list I could find (see below), threw them in my children’s lit blender, and hit “frappé”. Well, actually it was more like I carefully entered each one in an Excel spreadsheet, but that doesn’t sound nearly as fun. How about this: I consulted multiple “best-of” lists to see which books have received the most notice in 2007.

The middle grade landscape featured plenty of books whose titles were shouted out by critics. I was hoping my pal and Best New Book, Winston Breen would have made the list, but such is life. It’s the 100 Scope Notes Best of the Best of the Best. Today, Aught 7’s Most Loved Middle Grade Fiction.

“No Talking” By Andrew Clements. (100 Scope Notes Review)

“I Am Not Joey Pigza” By Jack Gantos.

“How to Steal a Dog” By Barbara O’Connor.

“The Talented Clementine” By Sara Pennypacker.

“The Mysterious Benedict Society” By Trenton Lee Stewart.

“If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period” By Gennifer Choldenko.

“Elijah of Buxton” By Christopher Paul Curtis.

It was a tight battle, but one book was tops…

The Best of the Best of the Best Middle Grade Fiction Book of the Year is:

“The Invention of Hugo Cabret” By Brian Selznick.

“Hugo” edged out Elijah to take the top spot and allowed the “Cabret” train keep on chugging.

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 a list? Do you disagree with my results? Let me know in the comments!)

Filed under: Articles, Best of

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

December 2020

2021 Caldecott Medal Predictions

by Travis Jonker

December 2019

2020 Geisel Award Predictions

by Travis Jonker

December 2019

2020 Caldecott Medal Predictions

by Travis Jonker

December 2018

2018 Librarian Lump of Coal Gift Guide

by Travis Jonker

December 2017

2017 Children's Lit: The Year in Miscellanea

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

One Star Review, Guess Who? (#181)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Readers’ Poll Results

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Value of Innocence for BIPOC Students, a guest post by David Mura

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

6 Middle Grade & YA Novels on Repeat for Groundhog Day

Remember: 10 Titles to Read for Holocaust Remembrance Day

Supernatural Page-Turners for 'Lockwood & Co.' Fans | Read-Alikes

6 Chapter Books Series Updates for Transitioning Readers

ChatGPT Does Readers’ Advisory | Top Stories on SLJ

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tricia says

    December 17, 2007 at 12:25 am

    Thanks so much for putting these lists together. I get a bit overwhelmed this time of year with all the “best of” lists, so it’s nice to see some kind of condensation. I’m actually surprised at how many of these I’ve read, but I suppose that’s the great thing about being part of the kidlitosphere–you hear about all the good reads before they’re even out!

    I’m enjoying your blog. Keep up the good work.
    Tricia

  2. Scope Notes says

    December 17, 2007 at 5:16 am

    Thanks Tricia! It was fun to see which titles were the attention-getters of the year in their genre. A few expected, a few not as expected.

  3. literary safari says

    December 19, 2007 at 1:32 pm

    I’m curious to know why you put Dangerous Book for Boys into the fiction category.

  4. Scope Notes says

    December 19, 2007 at 2:41 pm

    Right you are! Changes have been made – Thanks!

  5. pussreboots says

    December 25, 2007 at 12:29 pm

    I agree… Thank you for compiling this list. I see a number of books I’ve been thinking of reading. I will make the effort to get them read in 2008.

  6. Scope Notes says

    December 26, 2007 at 10:44 pm

    Thanks for reading! Yep, there are a few on this list that I am looking forward to reading soon as well.

  7. dew says

    December 31, 2007 at 3:52 pm

    Oh, here it is! Glad to see that. I guess it belongs here more than in graphic novels, since it’s not quite a graphic novel.

  8. Scope Notes says

    January 2, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    It seems like there were a few genre-benders in ’07 – thankfully that hasn’t stopped them from getting their due.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Author/Illustrator Blogs

    • Erin Stead Illustration
    • Hey, Rabbit!
    • James Preller's Blog
    • MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS
    • Mo Willems Doodles
    • The Scop
  • Book Blogs I Like

    • A Book and a Hug
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • A Kids Book a Day
    • A Year of Reading
    • Abby (the) Librarian
    • Awful Library Books
    • Becky’s Book Reviews
    • Better Book Titles
    • Book-A-Day Almanac
    • Bookends
    • books4yourkids.com
    • bookshelves of doom
    • Bottom Shelf Books
    • Calling Caldecott
    • Caustic Cover Critic
    • Chad C. Beckerman
    • Charlotte’s Library
    • Cheryl Rainfield
    • Chicken Spaghetti
    • CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
    • Collecting Children’s Books
    • Cybils
    • EarlyWord
    • educating alice
    • Finding Wonderland
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Good Show Sir
    • GottaBook
    • Great Kid Books
    • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
    • Hi Miss Julie!
    • Jen Robinson’s Book Page
    • Kidsmomo
    • Maria T. Middleton Design
    • Nerdy Book Club
    • Neverending Search
    • Nine Kinds of Pie
    • One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books
    • Out of the Box
    • Oz and Ends
    • PlanetEsme
    • Read Roger
    • Reading Rants!
    • Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
    • sharpread
    • ShelfTalker
    • so tomorrow
    • The Children's Book Review
    • The Miss Rumphius Effect
    • Uncovered Cover Art
    • Waking Brain Cells
    • Watch. Connect. Read.
  • Library Blogs

    • ALSC Blog
    • Blue Skunk Blog
    • librarian.net
    • LISNews
    • Stephen's Lighthouse
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Unshelved
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023