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/.
How to Perform a Search and Save a List
Search
Advanced Search
Surface Tension
by Brent Runyon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
From thirteen to sixteen, Luke's summer holiday experiences reflect his changing views of himself and life.
by Brent Runyon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
From thirteen to sixteen, Luke's summer holiday experiences reflect his changing views of himself and life.
Tales from Outer Suburbia
by Shaun Tan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Fifteen extraordinary vignettes transform everyday life in Australia into something quite magical. Brilliantly illustrated in a variety of media.
by Shaun Tan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Fifteen extraordinary vignettes transform everyday life in Australia into something quite magical. Brilliantly illustrated in a variety of media.
The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.
by Kate Messner
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Balancing cross-country running, a science leaf project, and a beloved grandmother with Alzheimer's is challenging, but friends are a big help.
by Kate Messner
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Balancing cross-country running, a science leaf project, and a beloved grandmother with Alzheimer's is challenging, but friends are a big help.
The Homeschool Liberation League
by Lucy Frank
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
13-year-old Katya desperately wants to be homeschooled; 14-year-old Milo wants to end his homeschooling. Will their parents support them in making those changes?
by Lucy Frank
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
13-year-old Katya desperately wants to be homeschooled; 14-year-old Milo wants to end his homeschooling. Will their parents support them in making those changes?
The Musician's Daughter
by Susanne Dunlap
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
When fifteen-year-old Theresa's violinist father is murdered in eighteenth century Vienna, she risks everything to solve the mystery.
by Susanne Dunlap
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
When fifteen-year-old Theresa's violinist father is murdered in eighteenth century Vienna, she risks everything to solve the mystery.
The Other Half of Life
by Kim Ablon Whitney
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In 1939, the MS St. Louis and its unsuccessful trip to Cuba intended to allow European Jews to escape to freedom.
by Kim Ablon Whitney
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In 1939, the MS St. Louis and its unsuccessful trip to Cuba intended to allow European Jews to escape to freedom.
The Pale Assassin
by Patricia Elliott
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In Revolutionary Paris, no aristocrat is safe from betrayal, least of all fourteen-year-old Eugénie de Boncoeur.
by Patricia Elliott
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In Revolutionary Paris, no aristocrat is safe from betrayal, least of all fourteen-year-old Eugénie de Boncoeur.
The Reformed Vampire Support Group
by Catherine Jinks
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Sarcastic, fifteen-year-old Nina is sick of her support group and the unglamorous realities of being a modern vampire.
by Catherine Jinks
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Sarcastic, fifteen-year-old Nina is sick of her support group and the unglamorous realities of being a modern vampire.
The Stolen One
by Suzanne Crowley
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Determined to learn the secrets of her parenthood, Kat joins the court of Elizabeth I as a gifted needlewoman.
by Suzanne Crowley
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Determined to learn the secrets of her parenthood, Kat joins the court of Elizabeth I as a gifted needlewoman.
The Time of the Witches
by Anna Myers
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
This compelling historical novel is told in the fictional voice of Drucilla, one of the girls accusing their neighbors of witchcraft in Salem village, Massachusetts.
by Anna Myers
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
This compelling historical novel is told in the fictional voice of Drucilla, one of the girls accusing their neighbors of witchcraft in Salem village, Massachusetts.
The White Witch
by Janet Graber
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In seventeenth century England, as the plague ravages much of the population, white-haired, pale-skinned Gwendoline is frequently called a witch.
by Janet Graber
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In seventeenth century England, as the plague ravages much of the population, white-haired, pale-skinned Gwendoline is frequently called a witch.
The Year of the Bomb
by Ronald Kidd
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
As “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is filmed in their town, four spunky junior high school boys encounter the McCarthyite fears that shaped 1950s America.
by Ronald Kidd
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
As “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is filmed in their town, four spunky junior high school boys encounter the McCarthyite fears that shaped 1950s America.
This Full House
by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In the last of the Make Lemonade trilogy, LaVaughn continues to grow academically and emotionally, as she struggles with her roots.
by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
In the last of the Make Lemonade trilogy, LaVaughn continues to grow academically and emotionally, as she struggles with her roots.
Tmi
by Sarah Quigley
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Fifteen-year-old Becca's effort to reign in her tendency to overshare goes awry.
by Sarah Quigley
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Fifteen-year-old Becca's effort to reign in her tendency to overshare goes awry.
Tropical Secrets
by Margarita Engle
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Escaping alone from persecution in Germany, thirteen-year-old Daniel lands in Cuba to find more hardship as well as friendship. Told in verse.
by Margarita Engle
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Escaping alone from persecution in Germany, thirteen-year-old Daniel lands in Cuba to find more hardship as well as friendship. Told in verse.
Trouble in Timbuktu
by Cristina Kessler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Twelve-year-old twins Ayisha and Ahmed are determined to prevent a dishonest archeologist from taking precious ancient manuscripts from Timbuktu.
by Cristina Kessler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Twelve-year-old twins Ayisha and Ahmed are determined to prevent a dishonest archeologist from taking precious ancient manuscripts from Timbuktu.
Viola in Reel Life
by Adriana Trigiani
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
A Brooklyn teen is sent against her wishes to an Indiana boarding school. She matures as she comes to love her supportive roommates.
by Adriana Trigiani
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
A Brooklyn teen is sent against her wishes to an Indiana boarding school. She matures as she comes to love her supportive roommates.
Waiting to Score
by J. E. MacLeod
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Zack, fifteen, raised to be a clone of his late father, becomes himself as he tries to score in hockey and in life.
by J. E. MacLeod
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Zack, fifteen, raised to be a clone of his late father, becomes himself as he tries to score in hockey and in life.
Winnie's War
by Jenny Moss
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Twelve-year-old Winnie experiences the devastating affects of the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 on her small Texas town.
by Jenny Moss
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Twelve-year-old Winnie experiences the devastating affects of the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 on her small Texas town.
Wondrous Strange
by Lesley Livingston
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Kelley, a seventeen-year-old actress, learns to counter Faerie treachery when the gate between the mortal realm and the dangerous Otherworld opens.
by Lesley Livingston
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Kelley, a seventeen-year-old actress, learns to counter Faerie treachery when the gate between the mortal realm and the dangerous Otherworld opens.
You Are Here
by Jennifer E. Smith
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Friends Emma and Peter have a sense something is missing in their lives and discover unexpected truths on a road trip together.
by Jennifer E. Smith
Ages: 12+
Published: 2009
Friends Emma and Peter have a sense something is missing in their lives and discover unexpected truths on a road trip together.
42 Miles
by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
Illustrator: Elaine Clayton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2008
Can twelve-year-old Jo Ellen turn the two halves of her joint custody, city/country life, into one whole? Told in free verse with mixed media illustrations.
by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
Illustrator: Elaine Clayton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2008
Can twelve-year-old Jo Ellen turn the two halves of her joint custody, city/country life, into one whole? Told in free verse with mixed media illustrations.
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea
by Valérie Zenatti
Ages: 12+
Published: 2008
An Israeli girl sends a message across “enemy lines” and begins a powerful and unforgettable correspondence with a Palestinian boy.
by Valérie Zenatti
Ages: 12+
Published: 2008
An Israeli girl sends a message across “enemy lines” and begins a powerful and unforgettable correspondence with a Palestinian boy.
After Tupac & D Foster
by Jacqueline Woodson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2008
The tragic life of Tupac Shakur and his music form a backdrop to this warm story of friendship among three girls in Queens.
by Jacqueline Woodson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2008
The tragic life of Tupac Shakur and his music form a backdrop to this warm story of friendship among three girls in Queens.
Alive and Well in Prague, New York
by Daphne Grab
Ages: 12+
Published: 2008
Matisse is embarrassed by her father's advancing Parkinson's disease.
by Daphne Grab
Ages: 12+
Published: 2008
Matisse is embarrassed by her father's advancing Parkinson's disease.