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 Story of Cirrus Flux
by Matthew Skelton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
A young orphan discovers that he is the key to finding the divine power, the Breath of God.
by Matthew Skelton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
A young orphan discovers that he is the key to finding the divine power, the Breath of God.
The Things a Brother Knows
by Dana Reinhardt
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Seventeen-year-old Levi's brother has returned from the war, troubled and almost totally withdrawn. Levi is determined to help him reconnect--but will he succeed?
by Dana Reinhardt
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Seventeen-year-old Levi's brother has returned from the war, troubled and almost totally withdrawn. Levi is determined to help him reconnect--but will he succeed?
The Wager
by Donna Jo Napoli
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Privileged Don Giovanni loses all his wealth in a tidal wave in twelfth-century Sicily and is transformed from arrogant youth to empathetic adult after he wins a wager with a stranger.
by Donna Jo Napoli
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Privileged Don Giovanni loses all his wealth in a tidal wave in twelfth-century Sicily and is transformed from arrogant youth to empathetic adult after he wins a wager with a stranger.
The White Horse Trick
by Kate Thompson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Suffering from severe climate change, Ireland's young people must get aid fromt he fairy world. A sequel to “The New Policeman” and “The Last of High Kings.”
by Kate Thompson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Suffering from severe climate change, Ireland's young people must get aid fromt he fairy world. A sequel to “The New Policeman” and “The Last of High Kings.”
Thief Eyes
by Janni Lee Simner
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Haley finds herself in a mixture of fantasy steeped in Nordic sagas and the contemporary quest of a sixteen-year-old to find her mother who has disappeared in Iceland.
by Janni Lee Simner
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Haley finds herself in a mixture of fantasy steeped in Nordic sagas and the contemporary quest of a sixteen-year-old to find her mother who has disappeared in Iceland.
Toads and Diamonds
by Heather Tomlinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Two sisters in the India of the past are given different gifts by a Hindu goddess. Based on a Perrault fairy tale.
by Heather Tomlinson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Two sisters in the India of the past are given different gifts by a Hindu goddess. Based on a Perrault fairy tale.
To Come and Go Like Magic
by Katie Pickard Fawcett
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Lyrical vignettes of an important year in the life of a twelve-year-old Chilean girl show how she grows up in a small Kentucky town in the 70s and comes to understand her family, friends, and home.
by Katie Pickard Fawcett
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Lyrical vignettes of an important year in the life of a twelve-year-old Chilean girl show how she grows up in a small Kentucky town in the 70s and comes to understand her family, friends, and home.
Tyger Tyger
by Kersten Hamilton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Irish folklore and magic meet in urban Chicago as Teagon and her cousin Finn battle the goblins to save her father.
by Kersten Hamilton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Irish folklore and magic meet in urban Chicago as Teagon and her cousin Finn battle the goblins to save her father.
We Could Be Brothers
by Derrick Barnes
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
PSS, post school suspension awaits Crease and Pacino. These unlikely friends become allies in a life changing experience.
by Derrick Barnes
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
PSS, post school suspension awaits Crease and Pacino. These unlikely friends become allies in a life changing experience.
What Momma Left Me
by Renée Watson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Serenity looks for help from friends, extended family, and her church when she deals with her mother's violent death and later, her father's suicide.
by Renée Watson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Serenity looks for help from friends, extended family, and her church when she deals with her mother's violent death and later, her father's suicide.
Wicked Girls
by Stephanie Hemphill
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
The events of the 1672 Salem witch hunt are related in free verse from the fictionalized point of view of the “afflicted” girls.
by Stephanie Hemphill
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
The events of the 1672 Salem witch hunt are related in free verse from the fictionalized point of view of the “afflicted” girls.
Wildwing
by Emily Whitman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
In 1913 England, a fifteen-year-old is a lowly servant, but when she is magically transplanted to a castle in 1240, she experiences life as a royal.
by Emily Whitman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
In 1913 England, a fifteen-year-old is a lowly servant, but when she is magically transplanted to a castle in 1240, she experiences life as a royal.
William Shakespeare: His Life and Times
written and compiled by Kristen McDermott, PhD
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
In a fictional journal addressed to his daughter in 1615, Shakespeare gives an account of his life enhanced by scraps of letters, historical notes, and keepsakes. Extraordinary format.
written and compiled by Kristen McDermott, PhD
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
In a fictional journal addressed to his daughter in 1615, Shakespeare gives an account of his life enhanced by scraps of letters, historical notes, and keepsakes. Extraordinary format.
Winter Shadows
by Margaret Buffie
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Cass, a contemporary Canadian teenager sees glimpses of Beatrice, a girl of Métis heritage, who lived in the same home in 1856.
by Margaret Buffie
Ages: 12+
Published: 2010
Cass, a contemporary Canadian teenager sees glimpses of Beatrice, a girl of Métis heritage, who lived in the same home in 1856.
A Certain Strain of Peculiar
by Gigi Amateau
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Thirteen-year-old Mary Harold Woods, cruelly shunned since fourth grade, hopes that returning to her hometown and her loving Grandma Ayma will give her a fresh start.
by Gigi Amateau
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Thirteen-year-old Mary Harold Woods, cruelly shunned since fourth grade, hopes that returning to her hometown and her loving Grandma Ayma will give her a fresh start.
Alligator Bayou
by Donna Jo Napoli
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In 1899 Louisiana, fourteen-year-old Calogero and his Sicilian relatives sell produce, but social and racial tensions escalate into shocking violence. Based on a true story.
by Donna Jo Napoli
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In 1899 Louisiana, fourteen-year-old Calogero and his Sicilian relatives sell produce, but social and racial tensions escalate into shocking violence. Based on a true story.
All the Broken Pieces
by Ann E. Burg
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Son of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier, Matt is sent to the United States for adoption.
by Ann E. Burg
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Son of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier, Matt is sent to the United States for adoption.
Along for the Ride
by Sarah Dessen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
During a transformational summer, Auden re-examines her preconceived notions about people and success.
by Sarah Dessen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
During a transformational summer, Auden re-examines her preconceived notions about people and success.
A Map of the Known World
by Lisa Ann Sandell
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Shattered by the death of the son they have barely known, Cora's parents nearly lose her because of their overprotectiveness.
by Lisa Ann Sandell
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Shattered by the death of the son they have barely known, Cora's parents nearly lose her because of their overprotectiveness.
Anything But Typical
by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Jason, an autistic twelve-year-old, posts stories online and through them, makes a friend in cyberspace. But what will happen when they actually meet?
by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Jason, an autistic twelve-year-old, posts stories online and through them, makes a friend in cyberspace. But what will happen when they actually meet?
A Pearl Among Princes
by Coleen Murtagh Paratore
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Is Gracepearl destined to leave her island home with a visiting Prince, despite her love for her childhood friend?
by Coleen Murtagh Paratore
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Is Gracepearl destined to leave her island home with a visiting Prince, despite her love for her childhood friend?
Ash
by Malinda Lo
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
This fresh, elegant retelling of Cinderella abounds in fantasy and mystery and ends with a compelling twist.
by Malinda Lo
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
This fresh, elegant retelling of Cinderella abounds in fantasy and mystery and ends with a compelling twist.
A Troubled Peace
by L. M. Elliott
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, an American World War II pilot returns to France to rescue a child who saved his life.
by L. M. Elliott
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, an American World War II pilot returns to France to rescue a child who saved his life.
A Voice of Her Own
by Barbara Dana
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
The poet emerges in this finely wrought imagining of the Dickinson family amidst life in mid-nineteenth century Amherst.
by Barbara Dana
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
The poet emerges in this finely wrought imagining of the Dickinson family amidst life in mid-nineteenth century Amherst.
Back Home
by Julia Keller
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
When 13-year-old Rachel's badly wounded father returns from Iraq, her family faces the difficult task of adjusting.
by Julia Keller
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
When 13-year-old Rachel's badly wounded father returns from Iraq, her family faces the difficult task of adjusting.