100 Scope Notes Year in Review: The Best of the Best of the Best (Part 5)

Part 5: Early Readers

Are you familiar with the Whitman’s Sampler? The Sampler takes the best chocolates in the world and throws them all in one box for you to enjoy. I can’t say that Whitman’s was the inspiration for The 100 Scope Notes Best of the Best of the Best, but I have to admit: I like their style.

The roundup continues today with a look at early readers. We’ve already rehashed fiction and non-fiction picture books, middle grade fiction, and graphic novels. The Best of the Best of the Best series may soon be reaching the end of the line, but the excitement in today’s post is fresh: my calculations found a three way tie for the top spot!

Similar to yesterday, our pool of candidates was small. What does this mean? Another piece of evidence supporting my emerging theory that “best of the year” lists leave certain genres out in the cold, no doubt. But more on that another time.

After compiling every year-end list I could find (see below) a list began to take shape. The list contained the books that garnered the most critical notice. It’s the 100 Scope Notes Best of the Best of the Best. Today, Aught 7’s Most Loved Early Readers.

Our three way tie was between…

“Today I Will Fly” By Mo Willems.

“There Is a Bird on Your Head” By Mo Willems.

“Jack Plank Tells Tales” By Natalie Babbitt.

A solid collection any emerging reader would love.

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!)

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