Welcome to the Bank Street Children's Book Committee's (CBC) Searchable Best Books List, a tool designed to help educators, families, librarians, and others access developmentally appropriate and engaging books for young readers (ages birth - 18).
Our online Searchable Best Books List draws from the committee's annual Best Children's Books of the Year-beginning with the list of books published in 2000-with each featuring more than 600 high-quality titles for young readers.
To share feedback about the tool, please feel free to email bookcom@bankstreet.edu. To learn more about the CBC, visit https://www.bankstreet.edu/cbc/.
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Leak, The: For the Love of Truth
Kate Reed Petty
Illustrator: Andrea Bell
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
When 12-year-old Ruth discovers a toxic substance in her neighborhood lake, she uses her investigative journalist skills to uncover the source. Bright graphic illustrations.
Kate Reed Petty
Illustrator: Andrea Bell
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
When 12-year-old Ruth discovers a toxic substance in her neighborhood lake, she uses her investigative journalist skills to uncover the source. Bright graphic illustrations.
Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance
Nikki Grimes
Illustrator: Various
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Utilizing the golden shovel poetic form, Grimes creates contemporary poetry using lines borrowed from women's poetry written during the Harlem Renaissance. Bold stylized illustrations.
Nikki Grimes
Illustrator: Various
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Utilizing the golden shovel poetic form, Grimes creates contemporary poetry using lines borrowed from women's poetry written during the Harlem Renaissance. Bold stylized illustrations.
Legend of Auntie Po, The
Shing Yin Khor
Illustrator: Shing Yin Khor
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Mei, 13, narrates life in an 1885 logging camp using Paul Bunyan stories with Chinese matriarch Auntie Po as protagonist. Bold digital pencil and watercolor illustrations.
Shing Yin Khor
Illustrator: Shing Yin Khor
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Mei, 13, narrates life in an 1885 logging camp using Paul Bunyan stories with Chinese matriarch Auntie Po as protagonist. Bold digital pencil and watercolor illustrations.
Legend of Hobart, The
Heather Mullaly
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Bullied, beleaguered Hobart needs to perform heroic deeds to be eligible to be nominated to knight's school; he hurriedly sets out to prove himself worthy. But what is heroism?
Heather Mullaly
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Bullied, beleaguered Hobart needs to perform heroic deeds to be eligible to be nominated to knight's school; he hurriedly sets out to prove himself worthy. But what is heroism?
Leonard: My Life as a Cat
Carlie Sorosiak
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Leonard, an alien, is sent to earth for a sabbatical, but in a mixup, he arrives as a cat in need of rescue. Eleven-year-old Olive finds him.
Carlie Sorosiak
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Leonard, an alien, is sent to earth for a sabbatical, but in a mixup, he arrives as a cat in need of rescue. Eleven-year-old Olive finds him.
Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories
Dan Sasuweh Jones
Illustrator: Weshoyot Alvitre
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Thirty-two shivery tales, both contemporary and traditional, reflecting the diversity of Native American folklore. Sketchy line art; detailed background and sources.
Dan Sasuweh Jones
Illustrator: Weshoyot Alvitre
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Thirty-two shivery tales, both contemporary and traditional, reflecting the diversity of Native American folklore. Sketchy line art; detailed background and sources.
Living the Confidence Code
Katty Kay, Claire Shipman, and Jillellyn Riley
Illustrator: Various illustrators
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Short bios focus on interviews with capable girls, the world over, who are making a difference. Black and white photos, short graphic format inserts. Back matter.
Katty Kay, Claire Shipman, and Jillellyn Riley
Illustrator: Various illustrators
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Short bios focus on interviews with capable girls, the world over, who are making a difference. Black and white photos, short graphic format inserts. Back matter.
Losers at the Center of the Galaxy, The
Mary Winn Heider
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Middle school siblings find separate paths to wholeness following the disappearance of their father, an ex-football player with CTE. Poignant yet sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.
Mary Winn Heider
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Middle school siblings find separate paths to wholeness following the disappearance of their father, an ex-football player with CTE. Poignant yet sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.
Middletown
Sarah Moon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Thirteen-year-old Eli and her older sister Anna lean on each other to feign a life of normalcy when their single mother gets sent to rehab.
Sarah Moon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Thirteen-year-old Eli and her older sister Anna lean on each other to feign a life of normalcy when their single mother gets sent to rehab.
My Contrary Mary (The Lady Janies series)
Cynthia Hand,Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
A clever, humorous account of the intrigues and treacheries threatening the 16th century Scottish queen, betrothed to Francis, heir to the French throne. This queen is sometimes a mouse!
Cynthia Hand,Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
A clever, humorous account of the intrigues and treacheries threatening the 16th century Scottish queen, betrothed to Francis, heir to the French throne. This queen is sometimes a mouse!
Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S., The (as told to his brother)
David Levithan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Twelve-year-old Aidan vanishes. When he returns, he doesn't think anyone will accept the truth about where he's been -- with good reason. Who would believe that another world exists?
David Levithan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Twelve-year-old Aidan vanishes. When he returns, he doesn't think anyone will accept the truth about where he's been -- with good reason. Who would believe that another world exists?
Neverforgotten
Alejandra Algorta
Illustrator: Ivan Rickenmann
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Ten-year-old Fabio flies through the streets of Bogotá on his bike, until one day he forgets how. An allegory about loss, truth, and friendship. Detailed charcoal illustrations. Bilingual.
Alejandra Algorta
Illustrator: Ivan Rickenmann
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Ten-year-old Fabio flies through the streets of Bogotá on his bike, until one day he forgets how. An allegory about loss, truth, and friendship. Detailed charcoal illustrations. Bilingual.
Occasionally Happy Family, An
Cliff Burke
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
After an exhausting camping vacation ends in an unwelcome surprise, teenage Theo, sister Laura and their father finally contend with their grief at the loss of the kids' mother.
Cliff Burke
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
After an exhausting camping vacation ends in an unwelcome surprise, teenage Theo, sister Laura and their father finally contend with their grief at the loss of the kids' mother.
Once Upon a Camel
Kathi Appelt
Illustrator: Eric Rohmann
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Zada, named for Scheherazade, an elderly camel in Texas 1910, protects two young kestrels by calming them with stories. Realistic greyscale oil paintings
Kathi Appelt
Illustrator: Eric Rohmann
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Zada, named for Scheherazade, an elderly camel in Texas 1910, protects two young kestrels by calming them with stories. Realistic greyscale oil paintings
One Life
Megan Rapinoe with Emma Brockes, adapted for young readers by Sarah Surand
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Rapinoe's honesty shines through in this sports memoir that shows how her family and experiences as a gay person shaped her career and activism. Famiy and archival photos.
Megan Rapinoe with Emma Brockes, adapted for young readers by Sarah Surand
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Rapinoe's honesty shines through in this sports memoir that shows how her family and experiences as a gay person shaped her career and activism. Famiy and archival photos.
One Small Hop
Madelyn Rosenberg
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Global warming has created numerous shortages and destroyed much of the animal population. When young friends discover a single living frog they try to sneak it into Canada where a female awaits.
Madelyn Rosenberg
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Global warming has created numerous shortages and destroyed much of the animal population. When young friends discover a single living frog they try to sneak it into Canada where a female awaits.
Other Talk, The: Reckoning With Our White Privilege
Brendan Kiely, introduced by Jason Reynolds
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Through relatable personal anecdotes, statistics, and history the author explores White privilege and what White people can do to combat racism. Author's note, endnotes, bibliography.
Brendan Kiely, introduced by Jason Reynolds
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Through relatable personal anecdotes, statistics, and history the author explores White privilege and what White people can do to combat racism. Author's note, endnotes, bibliography.
Pahua and the Soul Stealer
Lori M. Lee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Take a deep dive into Hmong culture, folklore, and cosmology along with Pahua, who has only three days to rescue her brother's soul from the spirit world.
Lori M. Lee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Take a deep dive into Hmong culture, folklore, and cosmology along with Pahua, who has only three days to rescue her brother's soul from the spirit world.
Picturing a Nation: The Great Depression's Finest Photographers Introduce America to Itself
Martin W. Sandler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Photographers, including legendary Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans, documented everyday life during the 1930s Great Depression. Black-and-white and color photos. Photographer profiles. Source notes.
Martin W. Sandler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Photographers, including legendary Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans, documented everyday life during the 1930s Great Depression. Black-and-white and color photos. Photographer profiles. Source notes.
Pity Party
Kathleen Lane
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
An eclectic selection of short stories reveals the teeming inner thoughts of a relatable cast of characters as they face impending adulthood.
Kathleen Lane
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
An eclectic selection of short stories reveals the teeming inner thoughts of a relatable cast of characters as they face impending adulthood.
Polo Cowboy
G. Neri
Illustrator: Jesse Joshua Watson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Compelling story about an African American boy and his attachment to his horse. When he discovers polo, he throws himself into learning how to play. Illustrations on Bristol board.
G. Neri
Illustrator: Jesse Joshua Watson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Compelling story about an African American boy and his attachment to his horse. When he discovers polo, he throws himself into learning how to play. Illustrations on Bristol board.
Pony
R.J. Palacio
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
In 1860's Ohio, a 12-year-old sets out to rescue his father from a counterfeiting gang —with the help of a ghost and an Arabian horse.
R.J. Palacio
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
In 1860's Ohio, a 12-year-old sets out to rescue his father from a counterfeiting gang —with the help of a ghost and an Arabian horse.
Race to the Bottom of the Earth: Surviving Antarctica
Rebecca E. F. Barone
Illustrator: Archival Photos
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Accounts of the races between Scott and Amundsen in 1911 and Rudd and O'Brady in 2018 to reach the South Pole. Archival photographs. Sourced quotes, maps, and social media posts.
Rebecca E. F. Barone
Illustrator: Archival Photos
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Accounts of the races between Scott and Amundsen in 1911 and Rudd and O'Brady in 2018 to reach the South Pole. Archival photographs. Sourced quotes, maps, and social media posts.
Recognize!: An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life
Wade Hudson & Cheryl Willis Hudson (editors)
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Poems, stories, essays, graphic format pieces, and full-color artwork celebrating Black life, produced from 2020 to 2021 by 30 authors, poets, and artists. Back matter includes biographies of contributors.
Wade Hudson & Cheryl Willis Hudson (editors)
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Poems, stories, essays, graphic format pieces, and full-color artwork celebrating Black life, produced from 2020 to 2021 by 30 authors, poets, and artists. Back matter includes biographies of contributors.
Red, White, and Whole
Rajani LaRocca
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Reha, 13, feels torn between two worlds: American at school and Indian at home. Then her mother is diagnosed with leukemia and everything changes. Free verse.
Rajani LaRocca
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Reha, 13, feels torn between two worlds: American at school and Indian at home. Then her mother is diagnosed with leukemia and everything changes. Free verse.