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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Fourmile
by Watt Key
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Twelve-year-old Foster confronts the pain of his father's death, anger toward his mom's boyfriend, and the truths that Gary, a war veteran, reveals.
by Watt Key
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Twelve-year-old Foster confronts the pain of his father's death, anger toward his mom's boyfriend, and the truths that Gary, a war veteran, reveals.
Fracture
by Megan Miranda
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
After seventeen-year-old Delaney miraculously survives death by drowning, she finds herself drawn to dying people. Does she cause their deaths?
by Megan Miranda
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
After seventeen-year-old Delaney miraculously survives death by drowning, she finds herself drawn to dying people. Does she cause their deaths?
Freedom's a-Callin Me
by Ntozake Shange
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
A harrowing journey on the Underground Railroad from slavery to freedom is told in a series of poems and subdued oil paintings.
by Ntozake Shange
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
A harrowing journey on the Underground Railroad from slavery to freedom is told in a series of poems and subdued oil paintings.
Friends with Boys
by Faith Erin Hicks
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
No longer home schooled, Maggie must navigate public high school with a missing mother, battling brothers, and a cop dad. Black-and-white illustrations.
by Faith Erin Hicks
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
No longer home schooled, Maggie must navigate public high school with a missing mother, battling brothers, and a cop dad. Black-and-white illustrations.
Ghosts of the Titanic
by Julie Lawson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When his father inherits a house in Nova Scotia, seventeen-year-old Kevin becomes eerily involved in the events surrounding the recovery of the victims of the Titanic disaster.
by Julie Lawson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When his father inherits a house in Nova Scotia, seventeen-year-old Kevin becomes eerily involved in the events surrounding the recovery of the victims of the Titanic disaster.
Guy Langman
by Josh Berk
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When a school forensics club stumbles on a possible murder and a robbery, Guy and his pals work together to solve the mysteries.
by Josh Berk
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When a school forensics club stumbles on a possible murder and a robbery, Guy and his pals work together to solve the mysteries.
In Honor
by Jessi Kirby
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Seventeen-year-old Honor takes off in her late brother's cherished car with his former friend as they both struggle to deal with their grief and understand their loss.
by Jessi Kirby
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Seventeen-year-old Honor takes off in her late brother's cherished car with his former friend as they both struggle to deal with their grief and understand their loss.
Insignia
by S. J. Kincaid
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Tom leaves behind the unstable existence with his gambling father to engage in virtual wars with corporate sponsors. Will Tom's combat instincts earn him a place in the Intrasoar Forces?
by S. J. Kincaid
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Tom leaves behind the unstable existence with his gambling father to engage in virtual wars with corporate sponsors. Will Tom's combat instincts earn him a place in the Intrasoar Forces?
Jepp, Who Defied the Stars
by Katherine Marsh
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
A dwarf at the Infanta's court seeking answers to questions about his parentage creates his own destiny.
by Katherine Marsh
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
A dwarf at the Infanta's court seeking answers to questions about his parentage creates his own destiny.
Jump Into the Sky
by Shelley Pearsall
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In 1945, a thirteen-year-old African American boy is sent to North Carolina to live with his father--a World War II army pilot--and learns the harsh realities of Jim Crow.
by Shelley Pearsall
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In 1945, a thirteen-year-old African American boy is sent to North Carolina to live with his father--a World War II army pilot--and learns the harsh realities of Jim Crow.
Last Chance
by Norah McClintock
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Deathly afraid of dogs but sentenced to volunteer at an animal shelter, Robyn encounters a boy from her past and learns that things aren't always what they seem.
by Norah McClintock
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Deathly afraid of dogs but sentenced to volunteer at an animal shelter, Robyn encounters a boy from her past and learns that things aren't always what they seem.
Laugh With the Moon
by Shana Burg
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Thirteen-year-old Clare travels to Africa with her doctor father. With the help of her new Malawian friends, she learns to accept her mother's death.
by Shana Burg
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Thirteen-year-old Clare travels to Africa with her doctor father. With the help of her new Malawian friends, she learns to accept her mother's death.
Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up
by Mark Peter Hughes
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When a major music promoter discovers the socially conscious garage band Lemonade Mouth, it seems like a dream come true. But will it turn into a nightmare?
by Mark Peter Hughes
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When a major music promoter discovers the socially conscious garage band Lemonade Mouth, it seems like a dream come true. But will it turn into a nightmare?
Light on the Prairie
by Nancy Plain
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Solomon Butcher's determination to document pioneer life on the Great Plains has left a rich,wonderful record of that period. Archival photographs.
by Nancy Plain
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Solomon Butcher's determination to document pioneer life on the Great Plains has left a rich,wonderful record of that period. Archival photographs.
Love? Maybe
by Heather Hepler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When a high school girl endures a tough breakup, three friends hatch a plan for her--with unanticipated results.
by Heather Hepler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When a high school girl endures a tough breakup, three friends hatch a plan for her--with unanticipated results.
Magisterium
by Jeff Hirsch
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When her father is arrested, sixteen-year-old Glennora flees the technological Colloquium, crossing the Rift into the magical Magisterium and wearing the bracelet her father invented--sought by both governments--for protection.
by Jeff Hirsch
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When her father is arrested, sixteen-year-old Glennora flees the technological Colloquium, crossing the Rift into the magical Magisterium and wearing the bracelet her father invented--sought by both governments--for protection.
Marching to the Mountaintop
by Ann Bausum
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Tto support the strike of sanitation workers, Martin Luther King, Jr., the great Civil Rights leader who also fought for workers' rights, came to Memphis--his final act in the struggle for equality and justice.
by Ann Bausum
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Tto support the strike of sanitation workers, Martin Luther King, Jr., the great Civil Rights leader who also fought for workers' rights, came to Memphis--his final act in the struggle for equality and justice.
Matthew Meets the Man
written and illustrated by Travis Nichols
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Matt plays trumpet in his school band but dreams of drumming in his own group. Humorous black-and-white illustrations.
written and illustrated by Travis Nichols
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Matt plays trumpet in his school band but dreams of drumming in his own group. Humorous black-and-white illustrations.
Meant To Be
by Lauren Morrill
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Uptight Julia, on a class trip in London, is paired with her nemesis, Jason, for the duration. Could he do anything more than annoy her for two weeks?
by Lauren Morrill
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Uptight Julia, on a class trip in London, is paired with her nemesis, Jason, for the duration. Could he do anything more than annoy her for two weeks?
Momentum
by Saci Lloyd
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In dystopian London, a privileged son of the ruling Citizen class aids a girl from the repressed, resourceful Outsiders‘ underclass and safeguards the Outsiders' most valuable secret.
by Saci Lloyd
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In dystopian London, a privileged son of the ruling Citizen class aids a girl from the repressed, resourceful Outsiders‘ underclass and safeguards the Outsiders' most valuable secret.
Moonbird
by Phillip Hoose, photographs
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Red Knots fly over 3,000 miles on their migration route. Can a bird make this journey nineteen times? Handsome color photographs.
by Phillip Hoose, photographs
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Red Knots fly over 3,000 miles on their migration route. Can a bird make this journey nineteen times? Handsome color photographs.
My Family for the War
by Anne C. Voorhoeve
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Raised as a Protestant, ten-year-old Ziska is taken out of Germany and placed with a Jewish family in London where she learns about the religion of her ancestors.
by Anne C. Voorhoeve
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Raised as a Protestant, ten-year-old Ziska is taken out of Germany and placed with a Jewish family in London where she learns about the religion of her ancestors.
My Name is Not Easy
by Debby Dahl Edwardson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In 1960s Alaska, Eskimo and Indian children attend a Catholic boarding school where they confront ethnic hostilities and attempts to suppress their traditional culture.
by Debby Dahl Edwardson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In 1960s Alaska, Eskimo and Indian children attend a Catholic boarding school where they confront ethnic hostilities and attempts to suppress their traditional culture.
My Name Is Parvana
by Deborah Ellis
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In post-Taliban Afghanistan, after her mother's struggling girls' school is bombed, Parvana is imprisoned by Americans as a possible terrorist. Sequel to The Breadwinner.
by Deborah Ellis
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In post-Taliban Afghanistan, after her mother's struggling girls' school is bombed, Parvana is imprisoned by Americans as a possible terrorist. Sequel to The Breadwinner.
My Sister's Stalker
by Nancy Springer
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Dealing with his parents' divorce and alienation from his dad, a sixteen-year-old uncovers a chilling, menacing plot concerning his older sister.
by Nancy Springer
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Dealing with his parents' divorce and alienation from his dad, a sixteen-year-old uncovers a chilling, menacing plot concerning his older sister.