MotherReader

Okay, this list has been very difficult to do. I had five books in mind before I had even started posting my lists. Then a bunch of books came in from my holds list from other library branches. Suddenly I had ten more great candidates. And then several of those books made me think of other books that I had liked but not thought of as I was making my list. Soon I was thrown into a sea of indecision — which ones were my absolute favorites? The pressure!

Throw in a little Girl Scout chaos, a weekend of yard work, and a visit from my dad, and I was fried. So, I’m going back to my original choices. I selected these books because they had something unique to share, the selection covers several ages within the middle-grade range, and the titles stuck with me.

1. Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf, by Jennifer Holm
   I loved the way the story of the girl is told through stuff. Very creative book.
   


2. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
   Who didn’t like this book? With an interesting story and amazing illustrations, it may be the book of 2007.
   


3. The Talented Clementine, by Sara Pennypacker
   Can I say that a sequel has something unique to share? Sure, if it’s about Clementine.
   


4. The Thing About Georgie, by Lisa Graff
   I loved the way the narrator involves the readers in this book. The story was different, engaging, and funny.
   


5. Rickshaw Girl, by Mitali Perkins
   This book brings a view of the other side of the world to younger elementary school readers. I love the focus on solutions and innovation.
   

Now, I know there are books I left out; as I said, I couldn’t spend any more energy sorting through it. But you can still include those books and suggest them for my blogwide list of Best Books of 2007 (So Far). Maybe you can consider it a chance to sort out your nominations for the upcoming Cybil Awards. Maybe you’ll want to make up for the certain lack of fantasy I’ve noticed while working on the master list. Maybe you’ll want to guess which HUGE book hasn’t been named, even though more than twenty people have posted lists or named a favorite in the comments. (It’s not Harry Potter or Hugo Cabret — I’ll give you that.)

You have until Friday at midnight to come out and play with me.