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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View from Pagoda Hill
Michaela MacColl
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
In 1878, a Chinese-American girl struggles when she is forced to leave Shanghai to go live with her American father's parents whom she barely knows.
Michaela MacColl
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
In 1878, a Chinese-American girl struggles when she is forced to leave Shanghai to go live with her American father's parents whom she barely knows.
Welcome to Your Period! (Welcome to Your Body series)
Yumi Stynes and Dr. Melissa Kang
Illustrator: Jenny Latham
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
A health writer and a doctor provide practical advice and scientific information to girls anticipating or new to menstruation. Helpful illustrations and glossary.
Yumi Stynes and Dr. Melissa Kang
Illustrator: Jenny Latham
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
A health writer and a doctor provide practical advice and scientific information to girls anticipating or new to menstruation. Helpful illustrations and glossary.
We Must Not Forget: Holocaust Stories of Survival and Resistance
Deborah Hopkinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Profiles of 12 Jewish children and teens from countries occupied by the Nazis in WWII with the different ways they were able to survive. Back matter, archival photographs
Deborah Hopkinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Profiles of 12 Jewish children and teens from countries occupied by the Nazis in WWII with the different ways they were able to survive. Back matter, archival photographs
What About Will
Ellen Hopkins
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Trace struggles to decide how best to help his beloved older brother who has become addicted to pain medications. Free verse
Ellen Hopkins
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Trace struggles to decide how best to help his beloved older brother who has become addicted to pain medications. Free verse
When the World Was Ours
Liz Kessler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
On the verge of World War II, three 9- year-old German friends - two Jewish and one a future Nazi - find their lives torn apart.
Liz Kessler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
On the verge of World War II, three 9- year-old German friends - two Jewish and one a future Nazi - find their lives torn apart.
While I Was Away
Waka T. Brown
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Waka, 12, details her difficult school experiences and life with her standoffish grandmother during an extended stay in Japan in 1984.
Waka T. Brown
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Waka, 12, details her difficult school experiences and life with her standoffish grandmother during an extended stay in Japan in 1984.
Wild Huntsboys, The
Martin Stewart
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
In a war-torn city Luka bonds with brainy Hazel and muscular Max to combat offended faeries threatening their lives and the life of Luka's young sister.
Martin Stewart
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
In a war-torn city Luka bonds with brainy Hazel and muscular Max to combat offended faeries threatening their lives and the life of Luka's young sister.
Woman All Spies Fear, The: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life
Amy Butler Greenfield
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
A pioneer in the field of cryptography, Friedman and her husband developed code-breaking techniques, saving thousands of lives from WWI to the 1960s. Photographs. Extensive back matter.
Amy Butler Greenfield
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
A pioneer in the field of cryptography, Friedman and her husband developed code-breaking techniques, saving thousands of lives from WWI to the 1960s. Photographs. Extensive back matter.
Wonder Women of Science: Twelve Geniuses Who Are Currently Rocking Science, Technology, and the World
Tiera Fletcher and Ginger Rue
Illustrator: Sally Wern Comport, diagrams by Rita Csizmadia
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
The accomplishments of twelve extraordinary women in engineering, computer game production, climate science, and more. Additional information, drawings, photographs.
Tiera Fletcher and Ginger Rue
Illustrator: Sally Wern Comport, diagrams by Rita Csizmadia
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
The accomplishments of twelve extraordinary women in engineering, computer game production, climate science, and more. Additional information, drawings, photographs.
World in Between: Based on a True Refugee Story
Kenan Trebinčević and Susan Shapiro
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
During the 1992 Serbian invasion of Bosnia and the ensuing massacre of Muslims, Kenan, 11, and his family flee. A moving and hopeful look at the vicissitudes of building a new life in the United States.
Kenan Trebinčević and Susan Shapiro
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
During the 1992 Serbian invasion of Bosnia and the ensuing massacre of Muslims, Kenan, 11, and his family flee. A moving and hopeful look at the vicissitudes of building a new life in the United States.
Worst-Case Collin
Rebecca Caprara
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
After an automobile accident causes his mother's death, 12-year-old Collin deals with his own trauma and his father's resulting mental illness. Free verse.
Rebecca Caprara
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
After an automobile accident causes his mother's death, 12-year-old Collin deals with his own trauma and his father's resulting mental illness. Free verse.
You Can't Say That!: Writers for Young People Talk About Censorship, Free Expression, and the Stories They Have to Tell
Leonard Marcus, Editor
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Heather Has Two Mommies, Captain Underpants, The Hate U Give: they have all been challenged or banned. Find out why. Source notes, selected reading.
Leonard Marcus, Editor
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Heather Has Two Mommies, Captain Underpants, The Hate U Give: they have all been challenged or banned. Find out why. Source notes, selected reading.
All He Knew
Helen Frost
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In the 1930s a deaf boy, erroneously deemed unteachable, faces inhumane treatment at an institution until a kindly worker there sees his potential.
Helen Frost
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In the 1930s a deaf boy, erroneously deemed unteachable, faces inhumane treatment at an institution until a kindly worker there sees his potential.
All Sales Final
Sarah S. Reida
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In a small town in 1956, a new, magical shop gives eleven-year-old Anna an opportunity to be extraordinary, but what price must she pay?
Sarah S. Reida
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In a small town in 1956, a new, magical shop gives eleven-year-old Anna an opportunity to be extraordinary, but what price must she pay?
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team
Christina Soontornvat
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
An international effort led to the incredible rescue of 12 Thai children and their coach trapped in a flooded cave. Endnotes, bibliography, archival photos.
Christina Soontornvat
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
An international effort led to the incredible rescue of 12 Thai children and their coach trapped in a flooded cave. Endnotes, bibliography, archival photos.
All Together Now (Eagle Rock series)
Hope Larson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Bina's new band is great, until two bandmates start dating. Illustrations with expressive, bold lines with muted tones.
Hope Larson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Bina's new band is great, until two bandmates start dating. Illustrations with expressive, bold lines with muted tones.
Alphamaniacs: Builders of 26 Wonders of the Word
Paul Fleischman
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Women and men invent, rediscover, and play with language in 26 challenging and entertaining entries. Artful and colorful collage illustrations. Back matter.
Paul Fleischman
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Women and men invent, rediscover, and play with language in 26 challenging and entertaining entries. Artful and colorful collage illustrations. Back matter.
Ana on the Edge
A.J. Sass
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Ana, 12, a champion figure-skater, increasingly identifies as nonbinary.
A.J. Sass
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Ana, 12, a champion figure-skater, increasingly identifies as nonbinary.
Any Day With You
Mae Respicio
Illustrator: Mark Koerner
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Kaia's treasured great-grandfather announces his intention to return to the Philippines. Devastated, she resolves to convince him to stay in Santa Monica. Ink-sketch spot illustrations.
Mae Respicio
Illustrator: Mark Koerner
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Kaia's treasured great-grandfather announces his intention to return to the Philippines. Devastated, she resolves to convince him to stay in Santa Monica. Ink-sketch spot illustrations.
Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier
Jim Ottaviani
Illustrator: Maris Wicks
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Mary Cleave, astronaut and NASA executive, describes women breaking the space program gender barrier in the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.. Action-filled comic panels. Substantial back matter.
Jim Ottaviani
Illustrator: Maris Wicks
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Mary Cleave, astronaut and NASA executive, describes women breaking the space program gender barrier in the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.. Action-filled comic panels. Substantial back matter.
Attacked at Sea: A True World War II Story of a Family's Fight for Survival (True Rescue series)
Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary
Illustrator: Archival photographs
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
A family shares their harrowing experience of having their ship destroyed by a German submarine during World II. Photographs. Bibliography, notes.
Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary
Illustrator: Archival photographs
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
A family shares their harrowing experience of having their ship destroyed by a German submarine during World II. Photographs. Bibliography, notes.
Becoming Brianna (Emmie & Friends series)
Terri Libenson
Illustrator: Terri Libenson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Bri grapples with mixed feelings about religion, having a Bat Mitzvah, and her quarrel with her best friend. Text with amusing spot illustrations intersperse with graphic pages.
Terri Libenson
Illustrator: Terri Libenson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Bri grapples with mixed feelings about religion, having a Bat Mitzvah, and her quarrel with her best friend. Text with amusing spot illustrations intersperse with graphic pages.
Beetle & the Hollowbones
Aliza Layne
Illustrator: Aliza Layne
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Beetle needs to learn magic quickly to save her best friend Blob Ghost. Will Kat help, and is she more than a friend?
Aliza Layne
Illustrator: Aliza Layne
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Beetle needs to learn magic quickly to save her best friend Blob Ghost. Will Kat help, and is she more than a friend?
Beyond Words: What Wolves and Dogs Think and Feel
Carl Safina
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
The behavior of wolves described with an account of their evolution to dogs. Footnotes, bibliography and index.
Carl Safina
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
The behavior of wolves described with an account of their evolution to dogs. Footnotes, bibliography and index.
Big One: the Cascadia Earthquakes and the Science of Saving Lives
Elizabeth Rusch
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Plate tectonics, continental drift, earthquakes, tsunamis, and the efforts of scientists and engineers to predict and mitigate their impacts are clearly explained. Diagrams, maps, photos.
Elizabeth Rusch
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Plate tectonics, continental drift, earthquakes, tsunamis, and the efforts of scientists and engineers to predict and mitigate their impacts are clearly explained. Diagrams, maps, photos.