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/.
How to Perform a Search and Save a List
Search
Advanced Search
Last Lie, The (The List series)
Patricia Forde
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Letta, a teacher, is part of a rebel group looking to restore their community created after their civilization collapsed. Are freedom of speech and peace possible?
Patricia Forde
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Letta, a teacher, is part of a rebel group looking to restore their community created after their civilization collapsed. Are freedom of speech and peace possible?
Lifting As We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box
Evette Dionne
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Powerful Black women led the charge for women's suffrage; 100 years ago women finally gained the right to vote. Racism, however, posed considerable obstacles. Archival photographs and documents.
Evette Dionne
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Powerful Black women led the charge for women's suffrage; 100 years ago women finally gained the right to vote. Racism, however, posed considerable obstacles. Archival photographs and documents.
List of Things That Will Not Change, The
Rebecca Stead
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
After her parents' divorce and her father's engagement to another man, Bea, now 12 and an only child, tells of her eagerness to meet her new stepsister.
Rebecca Stead
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
After her parents' divorce and her father's engagement to another man, Bea, now 12 and an only child, tells of her eagerness to meet her new stepsister.
Lizard in a Zoot Suit
Marco Finnegan
Illustrator: Marco Finnegan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In 1943, two Latinx zoot-suit sisters rescue a reptilian creature and try to find his family before a corrupt scientist gets his hand on it.
Marco Finnegan
Illustrator: Marco Finnegan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In 1943, two Latinx zoot-suit sisters rescue a reptilian creature and try to find his family before a corrupt scientist gets his hand on it.
Longest Night of Charlie Noon, The
Christopher Edge
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In 1933, three English children spend a night in a frightening woods where time bends and glimpses of their potential future appear. Can they change what happens?
Christopher Edge
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In 1933, three English children spend a night in a frightening woods where time bends and glimpses of their potential future appear. Can they change what happens?
Magic Fish, The
Trung Le Nguyen
Illustrator: Trung Le Nguyen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Loving family, supportive friendships, and fairytales help Tien navigate a cultural divide with his Vietnamese parents and the newfound feelings for his best friend. Graceful illustrations.
Trung Le Nguyen
Illustrator: Trung Le Nguyen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Loving family, supportive friendships, and fairytales help Tien navigate a cultural divide with his Vietnamese parents and the newfound feelings for his best friend. Graceful illustrations.
Many Feathered Thing, A
Lisa Gerlits
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Clarity, who has trouble speaking, dreams of becoming an artist. When she accidentally breaks elderly Mr. Vogelman's lawn ornament, he lets her pay in service in his artist studio.
Lisa Gerlits
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Clarity, who has trouble speaking, dreams of becoming an artist. When she accidentally breaks elderly Mr. Vogelman's lawn ornament, he lets her pay in service in his artist studio.
Maps of Memory, The: Return to Butterfly Hill
Marjorie Agosín
Illustrator: Lee White
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Fourteen-year-old Celeste returns to Chile from Maine to uncover the truth about what happened in Valparaíso during the dictatorship and to find Lucila, her missing friend.
Marjorie Agosín
Illustrator: Lee White
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Fourteen-year-old Celeste returns to Chile from Maine to uncover the truth about what happened in Valparaíso during the dictatorship and to find Lucila, her missing friend.
Mary Underwater
Shannon Doleski
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
When 13-year-old Mary's violent and abusive father returns from prison, she finds courage and safety in the building of a submersible, an underwater vehicle, with first love Kip.
Shannon Doleski
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
When 13-year-old Mary's violent and abusive father returns from prison, she finds courage and safety in the building of a submersible, an underwater vehicle, with first love Kip.
Me and Banksy
Tanya Lloyd Kyi
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Inspired by a real graffiti artist, Dominica and her classmates use her street art to combat cyberbullying and the school's invasive security cameras.
Tanya Lloyd Kyi
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Inspired by a real graffiti artist, Dominica and her classmates use her street art to combat cyberbullying and the school's invasive security cameras.
Mulan: Before the Sword
Grace Lin
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Mulan feels herself to be a less worthy daughter than her younger sister but, aided by immortal allies, she embarks on a quest that reveals her bravery.
Grace Lin
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Mulan feels herself to be a less worthy daughter than her younger sister but, aided by immortal allies, she embarks on a quest that reveals her bravery.
Music for Tigers
Michelle Kadarusman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Louisa is sent to a family camp in remote Tasmania. Will she be able to find the courage she needs to sustain her passion for violin and her new passion for endangered animals?
Michelle Kadarusman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Louisa is sent to a family camp in remote Tasmania. Will she be able to find the courage she needs to sustain her passion for violin and her new passion for endangered animals?
No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference
by Greta Thunberg
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, demands action from governments around the world in sixteen passionate speeches given from 2018-19.
by Greta Thunberg
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, demands action from governments around the world in sixteen passionate speeches given from 2018-19.
One Last Shot
John David Anderson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Malcolm, 12, yearns for his father's approval, but sports are not his forte. Life changes dramatically when he uses his unusual analytic talent playing miniature golf.
John David Anderson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Malcolm, 12, yearns for his father's approval, but sports are not his forte. Life changes dramatically when he uses his unusual analytic talent playing miniature golf.
Places We Sleep, The
Caroline Brooks DuBois
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Bodily changes, a new school and the 9/11 tragedy profoundly impact twelve-year-old Abbey. A novel in verse.
Caroline Brooks DuBois
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Bodily changes, a new school and the 9/11 tragedy profoundly impact twelve-year-old Abbey. A novel in verse.
Poisoned
Jennifer Donnelly
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Seven brothers give Princess Sophie a mechanical heart after hers is stolen, but will she be able to rescue her kingdom before it stops? A reimagining of Snow White.
Jennifer Donnelly
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Seven brothers give Princess Sophie a mechanical heart after hers is stolen, but will she be able to rescue her kingdom before it stops? A reimagining of Snow White.
Santiago's Road Home
Alexandra Diaz
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
An orphaned boy creates a new family with other migrants heading to El Norte and then spends months in a psychologically scarring U.S. youth detention center.
Alexandra Diaz
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
An orphaned boy creates a new family with other migrants heading to El Norte and then spends months in a psychologically scarring U.S. youth detention center.
Saving Savannah
Tonya Bolden
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In 1919, on the cusp of chaos from anarchist bombings and race riots, an upper-class black high school student finds identity among those less privileged in Washington D.C.
Tonya Bolden
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In 1919, on the cusp of chaos from anarchist bombings and race riots, an upper-class black high school student finds identity among those less privileged in Washington D.C.
Say Her Name
Zetta Elliott
Illustrator: Loveis Wise
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Powerful and empowering descriptions of the experiences of black women throughout history. Striking illustrations. Endnotes.
Zetta Elliott
Illustrator: Loveis Wise
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Powerful and empowering descriptions of the experiences of black women throughout history. Striking illustrations. Endnotes.
Scritch Scratch
Lindsay Currie
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Reluctantly helping her father run a ghost-themed Chicago bus tour, Claire is astonished and terrified to find a young spirit repeatedly haunting her and apparently seeking her help.
Lindsay Currie
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
Reluctantly helping her father run a ghost-themed Chicago bus tour, Claire is astonished and terrified to find a young spirit repeatedly haunting her and apparently seeking her help.
Ship We Built, The
Bean, Lexie
Illustrator: Noah Grigni
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In letters attached to helium balloons, Rowan, 12, struggles to come to terms with his gender identity. Greyscale spot illustrations.
Bean, Lexie
Illustrator: Noah Grigni
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In letters attached to helium balloons, Rowan, 12, struggles to come to terms with his gender identity. Greyscale spot illustrations.
Show Me A Sign
Ann Clare LeZotte
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In 1805, Mary, 11, is struggling with the accidental death of her brother, when a suspicious scientist arrives on Martha's Vineyard to study her deaf community. Back matter.
Ann Clare LeZotte
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
In 1805, Mary, 11, is struggling with the accidental death of her brother, when a suspicious scientist arrives on Martha's Vineyard to study her deaf community. Back matter.
Sing and Shout: The Mighty Voice of Paul Robeson
Susan Goldman Rubin
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
An extraordinary voice and a passionate commitment to universal civil rights mark the life a much-loved performer. Photographs and extensive back matter.
Susan Goldman Rubin
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
An extraordinary voice and a passionate commitment to universal civil rights mark the life a much-loved performer. Photographs and extensive back matter.
Sisters of the War: Two Remarkable True Stories of Survival and Hope in Syria
Rania Abouzeid
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
The situation that Syrian girls, one Sunni Muslim and one Alawite, experience during the civil war that began in 2011. Map. Author's note.
Rania Abouzeid
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
The situation that Syrian girls, one Sunni Muslim and one Alawite, experience during the civil war that began in 2011. Map. Author's note.
Snapdragon
Kat Leyh
Illustrator: Kat Leyh
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
With the help of her gender nonconforming best friend, Snapdragon becomes an apprentice to the rumored town witch and discovers surprising family connections. Cartoon-style illustrations.
Kat Leyh
Illustrator: Kat Leyh
Ages: 12+
Published: 2020
With the help of her gender nonconforming best friend, Snapdragon becomes an apprentice to the rumored town witch and discovers surprising family connections. Cartoon-style illustrations.