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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Why We Took the Car
by Wolfgang Herrndorf
Ages: 12+
Published: 2014
In 2010 Berlin, unassuming, unpopular Mike takes off with a trouble-making Russian classmate, Tschick, in a stolen car. Will their wild adventures change their lives?
by Wolfgang Herrndorf
Ages: 12+
Published: 2014
In 2010 Berlin, unassuming, unpopular Mike takes off with a trouble-making Russian classmate, Tschick, in a stolen car. Will their wild adventures change their lives?
Will Poole's Island
by Tim Weed
Ages: 12+
Published: 2014
Will rejects the restrictions of his fellow settlers of Connecticut Colony in 1643. He spends time in the wilderness where he meets an Indian to whom his fate is linked.
by Tim Weed
Ages: 12+
Published: 2014
Will rejects the restrictions of his fellow settlers of Connecticut Colony in 1643. He spends time in the wilderness where he meets an Indian to whom his fate is linked.
45 Pounds (more or less)
by K. A. Barson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Emotional eater Ann has allowed her weight to control her life until faced with her aunt's wedding. She then acquires a greater understanding of her family.
by K. A. Barson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Emotional eater Ann has allowed her weight to control her life until faced with her aunt's wedding. She then acquires a greater understanding of her family.
A Bag of Marbles
by Joseph Joffo
Illustrator: Vincent Bailly
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Ten-year-old Joseph and his older brother Maurice flee occupied Paris after they are beaten for being Jewish. Can they make it safely to the free zone? Detailed watercolor illustrations.
by Joseph Joffo
Illustrator: Vincent Bailly
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Ten-year-old Joseph and his older brother Maurice flee occupied Paris after they are beaten for being Jewish. Can they make it safely to the free zone? Detailed watercolor illustrations.
A Corner of White
by Jaclyn Moriarty
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Madeleine, of modern-day Cambridge, England, exchanges letters with Elliot through a crack into the parallel world of Cello, where magic brings danger.
by Jaclyn Moriarty
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Madeleine, of modern-day Cambridge, England, exchanges letters with Elliot through a crack into the parallel world of Cello, where magic brings danger.
Across a Star-Swept Sea
by Diana Peterfreund
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Socialite Persis travels in disguise as The Wild Poppy to neighboring Galatea to rescue aristocrats incapacitated by revolutionaries. An homage to the Scarlet Pimpernel.
by Diana Peterfreund
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Socialite Persis travels in disguise as The Wild Poppy to neighboring Galatea to rescue aristocrats incapacitated by revolutionaries. An homage to the Scarlet Pimpernel.
After Iris
by Natasha Farrant
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Twelve-year-old Blue is constantly working on a video diary as she copes with the death of her twin. Is she recording the disintegration of her family?
by Natasha Farrant
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Twelve-year-old Blue is constantly working on a video diary as she copes with the death of her twin. Is she recording the disintegration of her family?
All My Noble Dreams and then What Happens
by Gloria Whelan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In India in 1920, Rosalind struggles to balance the world of Imperial Britain and of a colonized country fighting for independence under Gandhi's leadership.
by Gloria Whelan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In India in 1920, Rosalind struggles to balance the world of Imperial Britain and of a colonized country fighting for independence under Gandhi's leadership.
Audition & Subtraction
by Amy Fellner Dominy
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Tatum desperately wants the one open spot for a clarinetist in the District Honor Band and to remain Lori's best friend forever.
by Amy Fellner Dominy
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Tatum desperately wants the one open spot for a clarinetist in the District Honor Band and to remain Lori's best friend forever.
Baygirl
by Heather Smith
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Newfoundlander Kit copes with life with an alcoholic father but finds solace in a loving grandmother, comforting neighbors, and an understanding boyfriend.
by Heather Smith
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Newfoundlander Kit copes with life with an alcoholic father but finds solace in a loving grandmother, comforting neighbors, and an understanding boyfriend.
Beauty's Daughter
by Carolyn Meyer
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Did Paris take beautiful Helen from Menelaus, or did she go willingly? Did this start the Trojan War? Accompany Hermione, Helen's daughter, through Ancient Greece peopled by gods, demigods, and other mortals
by Carolyn Meyer
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Did Paris take beautiful Helen from Menelaus, or did she go willingly? Did this start the Trojan War? Accompany Hermione, Helen's daughter, through Ancient Greece peopled by gods, demigods, and other mortals
Beholding Bee
by Kimberly Newton Fusco
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
When life in the carnival becomes dangerous for her, Bee runs away to seek the home and family she's always wanted.
by Kimberly Newton Fusco
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
When life in the carnival becomes dangerous for her, Bee runs away to seek the home and family she's always wanted.
Belle Epoque
by Elizabeth Ross
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In the late 1800's a sixteen-year-old French runaway secures an unusual job and discovers class discrimination, women's rights and her own identity.
by Elizabeth Ross
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In the late 1800's a sixteen-year-old French runaway secures an unusual job and discovers class discrimination, women's rights and her own identity.
Below
by Meg McKinlay
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In an attempt to manage water problems a town is flooded and a new town created, but what are the secrets hidden below the surface?
by Meg McKinlay
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In an attempt to manage water problems a town is flooded and a new town created, but what are the secrets hidden below the surface?
Black Ice
by Andrew Lane
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Can the young Sherlock Holmes prove his brother, Mycroft, innocent after Mycroft is found in a locked room with a dead body?
by Andrew Lane
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Can the young Sherlock Holmes prove his brother, Mycroft, innocent after Mycroft is found in a locked room with a dead body?
Boxers (Boxers & Saints)
written and illustrated by Gene Luen Yang
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
The opposing views of the Boxer Rebellion of a rebel leader and a Chinese Christian convey the emotions of an impossible conflict told in two volumes.
written and illustrated by Gene Luen Yang
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
The opposing views of the Boxer Rebellion of a rebel leader and a Chinese Christian convey the emotions of an impossible conflict told in two volumes.
Branded By the Pink Triangle
by Ken Setterington
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
The history of gays in Nazi Germany who were rounded up and sent to concentration camps is told through interviews, photographs, and historical resources.
by Ken Setterington
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
The history of gays in Nazi Germany who were rounded up and sent to concentration camps is told through interviews, photographs, and historical resources.
Call Me Amy
by Marcia Strykowski
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In a small Maine town in the 70s, shy thirteen-year-old Amy and two unlikely new friends care for a wounded seal pup.
by Marcia Strykowski
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In a small Maine town in the 70s, shy thirteen-year-old Amy and two unlikely new friends care for a wounded seal pup.
City of a Thousand Dolls
by Miriam Forster
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Abandoned earlier at the gates of a fantasy city created for orphan girls, 16-year-old Nisha is challenged to solve a murder mystery.
by Miriam Forster
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Abandoned earlier at the gates of a fantasy city created for orphan girls, 16-year-old Nisha is challenged to solve a murder mystery.
Constable & Toop
by Gareth P. Jones
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
ARC A ghost and an undertaker's son, Toop who can talk to ghosts, cooperate to combat The Black Rot, a spiritual infestation.
by Gareth P. Jones
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
ARC A ghost and an undertaker's son, Toop who can talk to ghosts, cooperate to combat The Black Rot, a spiritual infestation.
Courage Has No Color
by Tanya Lee Stone
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
The little-told story of Black paratroopers provides a fascinating glimpse into the integration of the American military. Archival photographs throughout.
by Tanya Lee Stone
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
The little-told story of Black paratroopers provides a fascinating glimpse into the integration of the American military. Archival photographs throughout.
Darius & Twig
by Walter Dean Myers
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In Harlem, two sixteen-year-old friends, a would-be author and a runner, strive to escape inner city poverty and violence.
by Walter Dean Myers
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In Harlem, two sixteen-year-old friends, a would-be author and a runner, strive to escape inner city poverty and violence.
Darkness Everywhere
by Matt Doeden
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Gandhi's nonviolent civil disobedience helped a divided India achieve independence and, even after his death at the hands of radical Hindu nationalists, influenced the fight for freedom worldwide. Archival photographs.
by Matt Doeden
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
Gandhi's nonviolent civil disobedience helped a divided India achieve independence and, even after his death at the hands of radical Hindu nationalists, influenced the fight for freedom worldwide. Archival photographs.
Dogs of War
by Sheila Keenan
Illustrator: Nathan Fox
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In these three stories, dynamic graphics portray the tremendous role played by man's best friend during wartime.
by Sheila Keenan
Illustrator: Nathan Fox
Ages: 12+
Published: 2013
In these three stories, dynamic graphics portray the tremendous role played by man's best friend during wartime.