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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Hillary Rodham Clinton
by Cynthia Levinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
This comprehensive account presents her life from grade school student to: first lady, senator, secretary of state and presidential candidate. Timeline, bibliography, index, notes, and photos.
by Cynthia Levinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
This comprehensive account presents her life from grade school student to: first lady, senator, secretary of state and presidential candidate. Timeline, bibliography, index, notes, and photos.
Into the Dim
by Janet B. Taylor
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
After her mother's death, Hope is sent from California to her aunt's manor in the Scottish highlands. While there, she learns her mother is actually trapped in the 12th century.
by Janet B. Taylor
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
After her mother's death, Hope is sent from California to her aunt's manor in the Scottish highlands. While there, she learns her mother is actually trapped in the 12th century.
Irena's Children
by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Irena Sendler, working with the Polish resistance, repeatedly risks her life to smuggle hundreds of Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Backmatter.(Young Readers Edition)
by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Irena Sendler, working with the Polish resistance, repeatedly risks her life to smuggle hundreds of Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Backmatter.(Young Readers Edition)
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
by Firoozeh Dumas
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Cindy, a sixth grader born in Iran, tries to live a normal life in 1970's California during the American hostage crisis in Iran.
by Firoozeh Dumas
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Cindy, a sixth grader born in Iran, tries to live a normal life in 1970's California during the American hostage crisis in Iran.
Just My Type
by Michael J. Rosen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Research-supported tests explain different personality types and enlighten our “only human” tendencies to help us understand who we are. Supportive archival photographs.
by Michael J. Rosen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Research-supported tests explain different personality types and enlighten our “only human” tendencies to help us understand who we are. Supportive archival photographs.
League of Archers
by Eva Howard
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
In a fresh take on the legend of Robin Hood, the young heroine faces the moral difficulty of doing violence for a just cause.
by Eva Howard
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
In a fresh take on the legend of Robin Hood, the young heroine faces the moral difficulty of doing violence for a just cause.
Life in Motion
by Misty Copeland
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Late to start ballet, and black in an almost all white ballet world, Copeland shares her journey and love of classical ballet. Photo essay insert.
by Misty Copeland
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Late to start ballet, and black in an almost all white ballet world, Copeland shares her journey and love of classical ballet. Photo essay insert.
Longbow Girl
by Linda Davies
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Merry, trained as an archer in a 700-year-long family tradition, finds a portal to 1537 Wales, where warfare rages for her ancestral lands.
by Linda Davies
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Merry, trained as an archer in a 700-year-long family tradition, finds a portal to 1537 Wales, where warfare rages for her ancestral lands.
Love and First Sight
by Josh Sundquist
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Will Porter, 16, undergoes an experimental surgery that enables him to see for the first time, all while navigating a new school, new friends, and a relationship.
by Josh Sundquist
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Will Porter, 16, undergoes an experimental surgery that enables him to see for the first time, all while navigating a new school, new friends, and a relationship.
March: Book Three
by John Lewis
Illustrator: Nate Powell
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
The final chapter of Congressman Lewis' eyewitness account is presented, from the 1963 church bombings to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Pen-and-ink illustrations.
by John Lewis
Illustrator: Nate Powell
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
The final chapter of Congressman Lewis' eyewitness account is presented, from the 1963 church bombings to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Pen-and-ink illustrations.
OCDaniel
by Wesley King
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Daniel spends his time writing and hiding his odd habits. When a mute girl asks for help in solving her father's disappearance, things change for both of them.
by Wesley King
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Daniel spends his time writing and hiding his odd habits. When a mute girl asks for help in solving her father's disappearance, things change for both of them.
Once Was a Time
by Leila Sales
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Lottie time travels but finds that no matter the time or place, friendship is hard, as is confronting who you are and being brave enough to follow your heart.
by Leila Sales
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Lottie time travels but finds that no matter the time or place, friendship is hard, as is confronting who you are and being brave enough to follow your heart.
Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle
by N. D. Wilson
Illustrator: Forrest Dickison
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Sam, 12, endures arms replaced by snakes, enemy-vultures, and danger to his sister in this first episode of a series. Black and white drawings.
by N. D. Wilson
Illustrator: Forrest Dickison
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Sam, 12, endures arms replaced by snakes, enemy-vultures, and danger to his sister in this first episode of a series. Black and white drawings.
Outrun the Moon
by Stacey Lee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Mercy Wong aspires to be an entrepreneur in 1906 San Francisco, but faced with sexism and xenophobia, deceit seems the only way forward.
by Stacey Lee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Mercy Wong aspires to be an entrepreneur in 1906 San Francisco, but faced with sexism and xenophobia, deceit seems the only way forward.
Poppy
by Mary Hooper
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
In 1914, Poppy, a British housemaid for an aristocratic family, volunteers for the nursing corps. An honest portrayal of life at the front and at home during the war. Includes notes and bibliography.
by Mary Hooper
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
In 1914, Poppy, a British housemaid for an aristocratic family, volunteers for the nursing corps. An honest portrayal of life at the front and at home during the war. Includes notes and bibliography.
Presenting Buffalo Bill
by Candace Fleming
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
One man's enduring version of the American West is accompanied by carefully delineated facts and myths. Sources, notes and photographs.
by Candace Fleming
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
One man's enduring version of the American West is accompanied by carefully delineated facts and myths. Sources, notes and photographs.
Pride
by Robin Stevenson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
This informative history of the gay pride movement does not obscure its radical roots. Photographs and reproductions complement the text.
by Robin Stevenson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
This informative history of the gay pride movement does not obscure its radical roots. Photographs and reproductions complement the text.
Quiet Power
by Susan Cain
Illustrator: Grant Snider
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
An empowering book for those who feel they are too quiet, shy, insecure or uncomfortable in social situations. Real-life solutions provided. Graphic illustrations, notes, guide for teachers and parents.
by Susan Cain
Illustrator: Grant Snider
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
An empowering book for those who feel they are too quiet, shy, insecure or uncomfortable in social situations. Real-life solutions provided. Graphic illustrations, notes, guide for teachers and parents.
Rebel of the Sands
by Alwyn Hamilton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
When Amani, an orphan with a talent for guns, leaves Dustwalk, she must embrace her gift to survive in the desert.
by Alwyn Hamilton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
When Amani, an orphan with a talent for guns, leaves Dustwalk, she must embrace her gift to survive in the desert.
Rescued
by Eliot Schrefer
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
A boy whose father got him an orangutan must now rescue his ‘brother' and work to return him to Indonesia and the wild.
by Eliot Schrefer
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
A boy whose father got him an orangutan must now rescue his ‘brother' and work to return him to Indonesia and the wild.
Riding Chance
by Christine Kendall
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
After messing up in the neighborhood, Troy is placed in a city prevention program involving horses. There he confronts a new and different set of forces.
by Christine Kendall
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
After messing up in the neighborhood, Troy is placed in a city prevention program involving horses. There he confronts a new and different set of forces.
Riverkeep
by Martin Stewart
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
As 15-year-old Will seeks to rid his father of the demons that possess him, he must survive the magical creatures he encounters on a treacherous river journey.
by Martin Stewart
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
As 15-year-old Will seeks to rid his father of the demons that possess him, he must survive the magical creatures he encounters on a treacherous river journey.
Sabotage
by Neal Bascomb
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
In two daring missions, Norwegians destroy heavy water crucial to Germany's development of atomic weaponry in World War II. Photographs, maps, back matter.
by Neal Bascomb
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
In two daring missions, Norwegians destroy heavy water crucial to Germany's development of atomic weaponry in World War II. Photographs, maps, back matter.
Sachiko
by Caren Stelson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Sachiko Yasui was six when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945. She survived, but it took years before she could talk about it. Archival photos? Backmatter
by Caren Stelson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
Sachiko Yasui was six when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945. She survived, but it took years before she could talk about it. Archival photos? Backmatter
Salt to the Sea
by Ruta Sepetys
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
In the winter of 1945, four teenaged refugees struggle to survive before the Soviets conquer Germany. They board the ill-fated transport ship Wilhelm Gustloff. Maps and author's notes included.
by Ruta Sepetys
Ages: 12+
Published: 2016
In the winter of 1945, four teenaged refugees struggle to survive before the Soviets conquer Germany. They board the ill-fated transport ship Wilhelm Gustloff. Maps and author's notes included.