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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The Jade Notebook
by Laura Resau
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Convinced that she can find clues about her father's past in Mexico, seventeen-year-old Zeeta encounters the truth about her family's history. Spanish glossary.
by Laura Resau
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Convinced that she can find clues about her father's past in Mexico, seventeen-year-old Zeeta encounters the truth about her family's history. Spanish glossary.
The Journey Back`
by Priscilla Cummings
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Fourteen-year-old Digger escapes from the detention facility where he has been deservedly imprisoned. Will running away solve any problems?
by Priscilla Cummings
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Fourteen-year-old Digger escapes from the detention facility where he has been deservedly imprisoned. Will running away solve any problems?
The Letter Q
edited by Sarah Moon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
A funny, heartbreaking, inspiring collection of “it gets better” letters for LGBTQ teens and any kid feeling different and alone.
edited by Sarah Moon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
A funny, heartbreaking, inspiring collection of “it gets better” letters for LGBTQ teens and any kid feeling different and alone.
The Other Normals
by Ned Vizzini
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Perry is forced to spend his summer at camp. He needs all his game skills as he enters an alternate world and he'll need social skills to return. Action-packed and very funny.
by Ned Vizzini
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Perry is forced to spend his summer at camp. He needs all his game skills as he enters an alternate world and he'll need social skills to return. Action-packed and very funny.
The Raft
by S. A. Bodeen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
On her way home to the Midway Island, Robie is the lone survivor of a cargo plane crash in the Pacific. Will her rebellious streak help her survive?
by S. A. Bodeen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
On her way home to the Midway Island, Robie is the lone survivor of a cargo plane crash in the Pacific. Will her rebellious streak help her survive?
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano
by Sonia Manzano
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In 1969 a fourteen-year-old becomes involved with Puerto Rican activists, The Young Lords, while exploring her identity and her family relationships.
by Sonia Manzano
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In 1969 a fourteen-year-old becomes involved with Puerto Rican activists, The Young Lords, while exploring her identity and her family relationships.
The Runaway
by Glen Huser
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When fourteen-year-old Leroy is orphaned, he joins a traveling educational Chautauqua show and discovers his true talents.
by Glen Huser
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When fourteen-year-old Leroy is orphaned, he joins a traveling educational Chautauqua show and discovers his true talents.
The Secret Keepers
by Paul Yee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
How can fifteen-year-old Jackson make a new life for his San Francisco family after the 1906 earthquake when he is haunted by old ghosts?
by Paul Yee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
How can fifteen-year-old Jackson make a new life for his San Francisco family after the 1906 earthquake when he is haunted by old ghosts?
The Survivors
by Will Weaver
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When teenagers Sarah and Miles cope with a world covered with volcanic dust, they uncover new truths about themselves and others. Sequel to Memory Boy.
by Will Weaver
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
When teenagers Sarah and Miles cope with a world covered with volcanic dust, they uncover new truths about themselves and others. Sequel to Memory Boy.
The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls
by Julie Schumacher
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Forced to join a mother-daughter book club for the summer, four eleventh graders with nothing in common learn life lessons from literature and one another.
by Julie Schumacher
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Forced to join a mother-daughter book club for the summer, four eleventh graders with nothing in common learn life lessons from literature and one another.
Time Snatchers
by Richard Ungar
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Bullied and cruelly treated, Caleb begins to question his role in the time travel missions. Set in New Beijing, formerly New York City, 2061.
by Richard Ungar
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Bullied and cruelly treated, Caleb begins to question his role in the time travel missions. Set in New Beijing, formerly New York City, 2061.
Titanic
by Deborah Hopkinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
The voices of the survivors of the Titanic are included in this absorbing account of the tragedy. Many historical photographs.
by Deborah Hopkinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
The voices of the survivors of the Titanic are included in this absorbing account of the tragedy. Many historical photographs.
To the Mountaintop
by Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Segregation of Georgia's public schools ended when the author entered the University of Georgia, one of the many significant events of the Civil Rights movement that she examines.
by Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Segregation of Georgia's public schools ended when the author entered the University of Georgia, one of the many significant events of the Civil Rights movement that she examines.
Unbreak My Heart
by Melissa Walker
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
During a summer boat trip with her family, sixteen-year-old Clementine recovers from a difficult year at school and finds happiness.
by Melissa Walker
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
During a summer boat trip with her family, sixteen-year-old Clementine recovers from a difficult year at school and finds happiness.
Under the Moons of Mars
edited by John Joseph Adams
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Fourteen exciting short stories by today's best science fiction writers are inspired by the Mars novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
edited by John Joseph Adams
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Fourteen exciting short stories by today's best science fiction writers are inspired by the Mars novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Under the Never Sky
by Veronica Rossi
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Aria's only chance to return home is an Outsider, Perry, who could kill her at any moment. Perry needs her, too, if he wants to save his own life.
by Veronica Rossi
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Aria's only chance to return home is an Outsider, Perry, who could kill her at any moment. Perry needs her, too, if he wants to save his own life.
Victory
by Carla Jablonski
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In the last year of World War II, a group of teens continues its work in the French Resistance despite the increasing wrath of the Nazis. Detailed illustration with effective use of two contrasting palettes.
by Carla Jablonski
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
In the last year of World War II, a group of teens continues its work in the French Resistance despite the increasing wrath of the Nazis. Detailed illustration with effective use of two contrasting palettes.
We've Got a Job
by Cynthia Levinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
To draw attention to the Civil Rights movement, African American children in Birmingham, Alabama marched and went to jail. Focuses on four of the participants. Archival photographs.
by Cynthia Levinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
To draw attention to the Civil Rights movement, African American children in Birmingham, Alabama marched and went to jail. Focuses on four of the participants. Archival photographs.
Wonder Show
by Hannah Barnaby
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Abandoned by her family, fourteen-year-old Portia escapes from a cruel home for wayward girls and seeks asylum in a traveling circus.
by Hannah Barnaby
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Abandoned by her family, fourteen-year-old Portia escapes from a cruel home for wayward girls and seeks asylum in a traveling circus.
Wonderstruck
by Brian Selznick
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Two stories, one told with words and the other with pictures, take place fifty years apart but ultimately come together.
by Brian Selznick
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Two stories, one told with words and the other with pictures, take place fifty years apart but ultimately come together.
Yesterday's Dead
by Pat Bourke
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Will thirteen-year-old Meredith, a household servant, be able to manage the crisis when all the adults are stricken with the flu that swept Toronto in 1918?
by Pat Bourke
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
Will thirteen-year-old Meredith, a household servant, be able to manage the crisis when all the adults are stricken with the flu that swept Toronto in 1918?
Zora!
by Judith Bloom Fradin
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
The talented novelist, poet, and collector of African American folk tales surmounted obstacles to receive an education and become a writer.
by Judith Bloom Fradin
Ages: 12+
Published: 2012
The talented novelist, poet, and collector of African American folk tales surmounted obstacles to receive an education and become a writer.
90 Miles to Havana
by Enrique Flores-Galbis
Ages: 12+
Published: 2011
Julian and his siblings flee the revolution in Cuba leaving behind their parents and a privileged life for the harshness and uncertainty of a refugee camp in Miami.
by Enrique Flores-Galbis
Ages: 12+
Published: 2011
Julian and his siblings flee the revolution in Cuba leaving behind their parents and a privileged life for the harshness and uncertainty of a refugee camp in Miami.
Alice Bliss
by Laura Harrington
Ages: 12+
Published: 2011
When Alice's father is unexpectedly shipped out to Iraq, the fifteen-year-old must come to terms with her sense of loss while navigating family relationships and a budding romance.
by Laura Harrington
Ages: 12+
Published: 2011
When Alice's father is unexpectedly shipped out to Iraq, the fifteen-year-old must come to terms with her sense of loss while navigating family relationships and a budding romance.
All Good Children
by Catherine Austen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2011
When all children are being vaccinated to make them obedient, Max and a friend are not included. Can they escape their increasingly repressive society?
by Catherine Austen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2011
When all children are being vaccinated to make them obedient, Max and a friend are not included. Can they escape their increasingly repressive society?