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
Dr. Franklin's Island
by Ann Halam
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Chilling fantasy about an evil scientist who uses teenage survivors of an air crash as guinea pigs to create a new species.
by Ann Halam
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Chilling fantasy about an evil scientist who uses teenage survivors of an air crash as guinea pigs to create a new species.
Dunk
by David Lubar
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Fifteen-year-old Chad learns about life, love and friendship when he becomes an amusement park clown.
by David Lubar
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Fifteen-year-old Chad learns about life, love and friendship when he becomes an amusement park clown.
Flight to Freedom
by Ana Veciana-Suarez
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Yara's diary about her family's exile from Cuba to America in the 1960s.
by Ana Veciana-Suarez
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Yara's diary about her family's exile from Cuba to America in the 1960s.
Fresh Girl
by Jaira Placide
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
With the help of a loving but struggling family, Mardi Desravines makes the transition from violence-torn Haiti to high school in Brooklyn.
by Jaira Placide
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
With the help of a loving but struggling family, Mardi Desravines makes the transition from violence-torn Haiti to high school in Brooklyn.
Gingerbread
by Rachel Cohn
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
A touching story of a pregnant sixteen-year-old who decides to have an abortion even though her mother bore her out of wedlock.
by Rachel Cohn
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
A touching story of a pregnant sixteen-year-old who decides to have an abortion even though her mother bore her out of wedlock.
Goddess of Yesterday
by Caroline B. Cooney
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Fascinating retelling of Greek mythology: the story of Helen of Troy seen through the eyes of a wise and courageous young girl.
by Caroline B. Cooney
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Fascinating retelling of Greek mythology: the story of Helen of Troy seen through the eyes of a wise and courageous young girl.
Hannah's Garden
by Midori Snyder
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Her grandfather's illness jars Hannah into confronting the strange forces which compete for his farm and even threaten their lives.
by Midori Snyder
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Her grandfather's illness jars Hannah into confronting the strange forces which compete for his farm and even threaten their lives.
Holly Starcross
by Berlie Doherty
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
When her father finds her eight years after her mother left him, a fourteen-year-old is asked to choose between her two parents.
by Berlie Doherty
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
When her father finds her eight years after her mother left him, a fourteen-year-old is asked to choose between her two parents.
Hush
by Jacqueline Woodson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
When her family is forced to enter a witness protection program, thirteen-year-old Toswiah loses her happy home, her best friend and her own identity
by Jacqueline Woodson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
When her family is forced to enter a witness protection program, thirteen-year-old Toswiah loses her happy home, her best friend and her own identity
I Am Not Esther
by Fleur Beale
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Thirteen-year-old Kirby struggles to establish her identity after being abandoned to a religious cult in New Zealand.
by Fleur Beale
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Thirteen-year-old Kirby struggles to establish her identity after being abandoned to a religious cult in New Zealand.
Kotuku
by Deborah Savage
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
When Win becomes enmeshed in a mystery about an unknown Maori-Cape Cod connection, it helps her recover from a friend's death.
by Deborah Savage
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
When Win becomes enmeshed in a mystery about an unknown Maori-Cape Cod connection, it helps her recover from a friend's death.
Loose Threads
by Lorie Ann Grover
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Kay Garber navigates seventh grade and Grandma Margie's illness. A warm family story of four generations of strong, proud women.
by Lorie Ann Grover
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Kay Garber navigates seventh grade and Grandma Margie's illness. A warm family story of four generations of strong, proud women.
Lucy the Giant
by Sherri L. Smith
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Lucy runs away from an abusive father and the cruel teasing of her classmates to find loving acceptance and self confidence aboard a commercial fishing boat out of Kodiak, Alaska.
by Sherri L. Smith
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Lucy runs away from an abusive father and the cruel teasing of her classmates to find loving acceptance and self confidence aboard a commercial fishing boat out of Kodiak, Alaska.
Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats
by Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz
Illustrator: Meilo So
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Five chinese festivals and their stories, recipes and activities.
by Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz
Illustrator: Meilo So
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Five chinese festivals and their stories, recipes and activities.
Numbering All the Bones
by Ann Rinaldi
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
After the Civil War, Eulinda, a house slave and daughter of a plantation owner, helps investigate the deaths of 13,000 Union prisoners at Andersonville.
by Ann Rinaldi
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
After the Civil War, Eulinda, a house slave and daughter of a plantation owner, helps investigate the deaths of 13,000 Union prisoners at Andersonville.
Remote Man
written and ill. by Elizabeth Honey
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
A teenage Aussie computer nerd and his far-flung cyber friends defeat the bad guys and save endangered wild life.
written and ill. by Elizabeth Honey
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
A teenage Aussie computer nerd and his far-flung cyber friends defeat the bad guys and save endangered wild life.
Shaper
by Jessie Haas
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Still grieving for his dog, Chad doesn't want to train and love another. The story explores family dynamics, forgiveness and the awkwardness of young love.
by Jessie Haas
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Still grieving for his dog, Chad doesn't want to train and love another. The story explores family dynamics, forgiveness and the awkwardness of young love.
Sonny's War
by Valerie Hobbs
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
When Corin's dad dies and her brother goes to Vietnam, she has to decide for herself what she thinks about the war.
by Valerie Hobbs
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
When Corin's dad dies and her brother goes to Vietnam, she has to decide for herself what she thinks about the war.
Sorceress
by Celia Rees
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
A Native American college student discovers her own spiritual powers while reliving memories of a white ancestor, considered a witch, who lived with various tribes.
by Celia Rees
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
A Native American college student discovers her own spiritual powers while reliving memories of a white ancestor, considered a witch, who lived with various tribes.
Stone-Cutter
by Leander Watts
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
A fourteen-year-old stone-cutter in 1835 rural New York State is forced to carve an unusual statue.
by Leander Watts
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
A fourteen-year-old stone-cutter in 1835 rural New York State is forced to carve an unusual statue.
Stoner & Spaz
by Ron Koertge
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Sixteen-year-old Ben copes with the cerebral palsy that sets him apart from his high school peers.
by Ron Koertge
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Sixteen-year-old Ben copes with the cerebral palsy that sets him apart from his high school peers.
Summerland
by Michael Chabon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Baseball is the means for Ethan and his friends-- both mythical and human-- to save his father and the world.
by Michael Chabon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Baseball is the means for Ethan and his friends-- both mythical and human-- to save his father and the world.
Taking Liberty
by Ann Rinaldi
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Martha Wahington's favorite slave must decide whether to run for her freedom or remain a slave in the relative comfort of her childhood home.
by Ann Rinaldi
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Martha Wahington's favorite slave must decide whether to run for her freedom or remain a slave in the relative comfort of her childhood home.
Ten Miles from Winnemucca
by Thelma Hatch Wyss
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
While his mother is on an extended honeymoon, Marty runs away and tries living on his own.
by Thelma Hatch Wyss
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
While his mother is on an extended honeymoon, Marty runs away and tries living on his own.
The Angel Factory
by Terence Blacker
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Thomas' life crashes when he opens his father's secret computer file and learns about the Presence and its designs on the planet.
by Terence Blacker
Ages: 12+
Published: 2002
Thomas' life crashes when he opens his father's secret computer file and learns about the Presence and its designs on the planet.