Friday Finds: Top 100 Children’s Novels

I’ve always loved school librarians. How much? When I was in eighth grade, I chose “library helper” over art class as my elective so I could spend more time in the school library with the librarian. (Okay, I also loved having first dibs on the new book arrivals while they were still in pristine condition before anyone else got their grimy hands on them.) Therefore it should come as no big surprise that a blog over at the School Library Journal’s website called A Fuse #8 Production should nab this week’s coveted Friday Find spot.

Elizabeth Bird, a children’s librarian at the Children’s Center at the 42nd Street of the New York Public Library system, blogs on the School Library Journal website. While her blog is filled with many great resources related to children’s literature, what really grabbed my attention is her current series of posts that report the results of a poll of her readers to find their Top 100 Children’s Novels. Starting at the bottom of the list and working her way toward the #1 spot, every day she metes out reviews, comments, fun facts, cover photos and more on five titles, and every day I check to see what five books came up next on the list.

As Elizabeth explains in her first post of the series:

So as we embark on this massive countdown, I would like to remind all of you that there will be many emotional humps and surprises along the way. There are heroes and villains here. I guarantee that in the course of the countdown you will see one book that makes you boo, and another that makes you cheer, perhaps in the same post. This is a passionate list. There are books included here that I adore and there are definitely books here that I abhor. My job is to never show the difference. So sit back and get ready to complain or cheer in turns. It’s totally within your rights.

We’re currently about halfway through the list, and I’m so anxious and excited to find out what books are at the top. Aren’t you?

Learn more

Visit A Fuse #8 Production blog at the School Library Journal website.

Wondering what makes Elizabeth (Betsy!) Bird’s blog so darned good? There’s an interesting analysis at The Value of Blogging, a post found at Dan Blank: Publishing, Innovation & the Web.

Follow the School Library Journal (@sljournal) on Twitter.

Want to read about more Friday Finds?