MORE 'BEST-OF' POSTS

Top 20 Children’s Books of 2010 (#10-6)

Travis Jonker, December 15, 2010 | Articles, Best of



#20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 10. The Chicken Thief by Beatrice Rodriguez [Enchanted Lion] Published in France in 2005 as Le Voleur de Poule, this wordless picture book takes readers on an adventure through a forest, up and down a mountain, across an ocean, and into Fox’s lair. Why? Because Bear, Rabbit, and […]

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Top 20 Children’s Books of 2010 (#15-11)

Travis Jonker, December 14, 2010 | Articles, Best of



#20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 15. Farm by Elisha Cooper [Orchard] Take a Midwestern farm, add a family, toss in animals, some machinery, and show how it changes through the seasons. Sounds like a traditional farm picture book, right?  Perhaps. It becomes extraordinary, however, when you add Elisha Cooper’s impeccable watercolor and pencil […]

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Top 20 Children’s Books of 2010 (#20-16)

Travis Jonker, December 13, 2010 | Articles, Best of



Warning! This is gonna be a love fest. Over four days, fellow school librarian John Schumacher and I will bring you our Top 20 children’s books of the year. The list contains books for the Kindergarten through sixth grade reader, but other than that, anything goes. You’ll see picture books mingling with graphic novels and […]

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2010 Children’s Lit: The Year in Miscellanea

Travis Jonker, December 13, 2010 | Articles, Best of



It’s time to take a look back at the year that was in children’s lit miscellanea. Best Moment of Solidarity: The response to the Speak Controversy An associate professor of management at Missouri State University made some unbelievable comments regarding Laurie Halse Anderson’s Printz honor book, and the response was swift and strong. Best Use […]

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100 Scope Notes Top 10 Picture Books

Travis Jonker, March 31, 2009 | Articles, Best of



A Fuse #8 Production asked, and I sneak in at the last minute with my reply. Such is my custom, friends (p.s. I’m going to start putting this phrase on t-shirts: it’s the “that’s how I roll” for the bookish set). Way back at the beginning of the month, the previously mentioned Fuse hatched a […]

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100 Scope Notes Year in Review: The Best of the Best of the Best (Part 4)

Travis Jonker, December 17, 2007 | Articles, Best of



Part 4: Graphic Novels I’ve said it before: I love lists. I think that it’s an inherent trait librarians posses. I love lists so much (especially those of the “year-end”, “best-of” persuasion) that I decided to make a book-related master list to sum up 2007. Call it “Kidlit’s Greatest Hits”, call it “Now This is […]

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

Travis Jonker, December 16, 2007 | Articles, Best of



Part 3: Middle Grade Fiction 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”. […]

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100 Scope Notes Year in Review: The Best of the Best of the Best (Part 2)

Travis Jonker, December 14, 2007 | Articles, Best of



Part 2: Picture Books (Non-fiction) The wrapping up of the year in children’s lit continues today with non-fiction picture books. In case you’re new to the scene, I’ve looked at every year-end list I could find (see below) to see which books have received the most notice in 2007. I am no scientist, and the […]

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

Travis Jonker, December 13, 2007 | Articles, Best of



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 […]

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