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
John Riley's Daughter
by Kezi Matthews
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Thirteen-year-old Memphis quarrels with her retarded aunt who then disappears.
by Kezi Matthews
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Thirteen-year-old Memphis quarrels with her retarded aunt who then disappears.
Little Lit
edited by Art Spiegelman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Parables, parodies and eye-popping graphics.
edited by Art Spiegelman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Parables, parodies and eye-popping graphics.
Looking for X
by Deborah Ellis
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
An eleven-year-old Canadian girl helps her single mother cope with her autistic twin brothers. Sensitive and warm.
by Deborah Ellis
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
An eleven-year-old Canadian girl helps her single mother cope with her autistic twin brothers. Sensitive and warm.
Lost in Time
by Hans Magnus Enzensberger
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A German teenager's special vision transports him across time and space in a series of extraordinary adventures.
by Hans Magnus Enzensberger
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A German teenager's special vision transports him across time and space in a series of extraordinary adventures.
McKendree
by Sandra Belton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
During the summer of 1948 in West Virginia, five teenagers work at a retirement home--and find new beginnings and self-esteem.
by Sandra Belton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
During the summer of 1948 in West Virginia, five teenagers work at a retirement home--and find new beginnings and self-esteem.
Men of Stone
by Gayle Friesen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Ben's visiting great-aunt encourages his love of dance and helps him transform his rage at school bullies into positive action.
by Gayle Friesen
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Ben's visiting great-aunt encourages his love of dance and helps him transform his rage at school bullies into positive action.
Miracle's Boys
by Jacqueline Woodson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Three brothers struggle to hold together their fragile relationship after their mother's death. Heartbreaking, hopeful and “cool.”
by Jacqueline Woodson
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Three brothers struggle to hold together their fragile relationship after their mother's death. Heartbreaking, hopeful and “cool.”
Night Flying
by Rita Murphy
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Nearing her sixteenth birthday, Pen uncovers secrets which enable her to grow and blossom.
by Rita Murphy
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Nearing her sixteenth birthday, Pen uncovers secrets which enable her to grow and blossom.
Nobody's There
by Joan Lowery Nixon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A girl doing enforced community service and a grouchy old woman identify the perpetrator of an embezzlement and a murder.
by Joan Lowery Nixon
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A girl doing enforced community service and a grouchy old woman identify the perpetrator of an embezzlement and a murder.
No Condition is Permanent
by Cristina Kessler Kessler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
In Sierra Leone with her anthropoligst mother, fourteen-year-old Jodie finds a true friend but realizes there are things she cannot change.
by Cristina Kessler Kessler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
In Sierra Leone with her anthropoligst mother, fourteen-year-old Jodie finds a true friend but realizes there are things she cannot change.
Over the Wall
by John H. Ritter
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A talented thirteen-year-old baseball player, Tyler, overcomes his uncontrollable anger and his resentment of a tragic family history.
by John H. Ritter
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A talented thirteen-year-old baseball player, Tyler, overcomes his uncontrollable anger and his resentment of a tragic family history.
Paper Trail
by Barbara Snow Gilbert
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A fifteen-year-old boy fleeing from right-wing militia reassesses his family's life within the group.
by Barbara Snow Gilbert
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A fifteen-year-old boy fleeing from right-wing militia reassesses his family's life within the group.
Perfect Family
by Jerrie Oughton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
In the mid nineteen fifties, a sixteen-year-old from a small southern town deals with her pregnancy and subsequent responsibilities.
by Jerrie Oughton
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
In the mid nineteen fifties, a sixteen-year-old from a small southern town deals with her pregnancy and subsequent responsibilities.
River Boy
by Tim Bowler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Fifteen-year-old Jess and her parents take Grandpa back to the river of his boyhood where he paints his final work--the mystical “River Boy”.
by Tim Bowler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Fifteen-year-old Jess and her parents take Grandpa back to the river of his boyhood where he paints his final work--the mystical “River Boy”.
Sacajawea
by Joseph Bruchac
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Addressing Sacajawea's young son, Sacajawea and William Clark each tell the story of their great expedition.
by Joseph Bruchac
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Addressing Sacajawea's young son, Sacajawea and William Clark each tell the story of their great expedition.
Shiva's Fire
by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A gifted young Indian dancer must choose between her passion for dancing and a gentle-eyed suitor.
by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A gifted young Indian dancer must choose between her passion for dancing and a gentle-eyed suitor.
Smiling for Strangers
by Gaye Hiçyilmaz
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
After her family is destroyed in Sarajevo, fourteen-year-old Nina makes an arduous journey to an old friend of her mother's in England.
by Gaye Hiçyilmaz
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
After her family is destroyed in Sarajevo, fourteen-year-old Nina makes an arduous journey to an old friend of her mother's in England.
Songs of Power
by Hilari Bell
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
In an underwater habitat, Imina finds that her Inuit magic must deal with the forces that are endangering human lives.
by Hilari Bell
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
In an underwater habitat, Imina finds that her Inuit magic must deal with the forces that are endangering human lives.
Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
When a new tenth-grader enters Mica High School, the students, especially Leo Borlock, learn about non-conformism and being true to oneself.
by Jerry Spinelli
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
When a new tenth-grader enters Mica High School, the students, especially Leo Borlock, learn about non-conformism and being true to oneself.
Stick and Whittle
by Sid Hite
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A picaresque western tale of a Civil War hero and his sidekick on a rescue mission involving Indians, outlaws, and romance.
by Sid Hite
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A picaresque western tale of a Civil War hero and his sidekick on a rescue mission involving Indians, outlaws, and romance.
Stowaway
by Karen Hesse
Illustrator: Robert Andrew Parker
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A pioneering voyage with Captain Cook brings an eleven-year-old stowaway self-confidence and friendship and awakens his intellectual curiosity.
by Karen Hesse
Illustrator: Robert Andrew Parker
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
A pioneering voyage with Captain Cook brings an eleven-year-old stowaway self-confidence and friendship and awakens his intellectual curiosity.
The Amber Spyglass
by Philip Pullman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
In the final, controversial installment to the trilogy begun with The Golden Compass, Will and Lyra fight to save their worlds.
by Philip Pullman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
In the final, controversial installment to the trilogy begun with The Golden Compass, Will and Lyra fight to save their worlds.
The Art of Keeping Cool
by Janet Taylor Lisle
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Living with his paternal grandparents while his father is a pilot in World War II, Robert finds himself in a house full of violent turmoil.
by Janet Taylor Lisle
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Living with his paternal grandparents while his father is a pilot in World War II, Robert finds himself in a house full of violent turmoil.
The Boy in the Burning House
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Ruth Rose knows who killed Jim's father--or is she mentally disturbed and playing a cruel joke? A fast moving mystery.
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Ages: 12+
Published: 2000
Ruth Rose knows who killed Jim's father--or is she mentally disturbed and playing a cruel joke? A fast moving mystery.