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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Sweet and Sour
Debbi Michiko Florence
Illustrator: Jacqueline Li
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Japanese Americans Mai, 12, and Zach, 13, were lifelong best friends until, two years ago, he humiliated her. Now he's back from Tokyo, and Mai is bent on revenge. Black-and-white spot art.
Debbi Michiko Florence
Illustrator: Jacqueline Li
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Japanese Americans Mai, 12, and Zach, 13, were lifelong best friends until, two years ago, he humiliated her. Now he's back from Tokyo, and Mai is bent on revenge. Black-and-white spot art.
They Call Her Fregona: A Border Kid's Poems
David Bowles
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Güero, a Mexican American boy, falls in love with "tough girl" Joanna (Fregona) and tries to help save her dad from deportation. Free verse. Glossary. Also available in Spanish
David Bowles
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Güero, a Mexican American boy, falls in love with "tough girl" Joanna (Fregona) and tries to help save her dad from deportation. Free verse. Glossary. Also available in Spanish
Those Kids from Fawn Creek
Erin Entrada Kelly
Illustrator: Celia Krampien
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Mysterious, seemingly worldly Orchid arrives at a rural middle school, impacting the lives of all 13 of her fellow seventh graders. Greyscale illustrations.
Erin Entrada Kelly
Illustrator: Celia Krampien
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Mysterious, seemingly worldly Orchid arrives at a rural middle school, impacting the lives of all 13 of her fellow seventh graders. Greyscale illustrations.
Thousand Steps into Night, A
Traci Chee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Miuko, an innkeeper's daughter in a Japanese-inspired fantasy world, is cursed by a demon. She befriends tricksters, shape shifters and magical creatures to end the curse.
Traci Chee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Miuko, an innkeeper's daughter in a Japanese-inspired fantasy world, is cursed by a demon. She befriends tricksters, shape shifters and magical creatures to end the curse.
Tiger Honor (A Thousand Worlds series)
Yoon Ha Lee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Nonbinary 13-year-old Sebin, a cadet on a Thousand Worlds spaceship, must choose between allegiance to their Juhwang Clan or dedication to the larger good. Korean folklore woven throughout.
Yoon Ha Lee
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Nonbinary 13-year-old Sebin, a cadet on a Thousand Worlds spaceship, must choose between allegiance to their Juhwang Clan or dedication to the larger good. Korean folklore woven throughout.
Trapped in Terror Bay: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Franklin Expedition
Sigmund Brouwer
Illustrator: archival photos, maps, and paintings
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Ten detailed episodes analyze what happened to Sir John Franklin's ill-fated 1845 exploration of the Arctic's Northwest Passage. Maps, photos, and archival images. Copious back matter.
Sigmund Brouwer
Illustrator: archival photos, maps, and paintings
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Ten detailed episodes analyze what happened to Sir John Franklin's ill-fated 1845 exploration of the Arctic's Northwest Passage. Maps, photos, and archival images. Copious back matter.
Troublemaker
John Cho (w/Sara Suk)
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Twelve-year-old Korean American Jordan is caught up in struggling between friends and family honor during the 1992 LA riots following the Rodney King verdict.
John Cho (w/Sara Suk)
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Twelve-year-old Korean American Jordan is caught up in struggling between friends and family honor during the 1992 LA riots following the Rodney King verdict.
Twelfth
Janet Key
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Maren uses her quick wits to solve the Twelfth Night-linked clues that will save a theater camp. Characters include LGBTQ+ youths and adults. Back matter on gender identity.
Janet Key
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Maren uses her quick wits to solve the Twelfth Night-linked clues that will save a theater camp. Characters include LGBTQ+ youths and adults. Back matter on gender identity.
Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code
Rebecca E. F. Barone
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Before and during World War II, the heroic efforts of many Poles, French men and women, and Britshers accomplished the impossible: cracking the complex encoded messages sent among the Nazi military. Back matter.
Rebecca E. F. Barone
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Before and during World War II, the heroic efforts of many Poles, French men and women, and Britshers accomplished the impossible: cracking the complex encoded messages sent among the Nazi military. Back matter.
Undercover Latina
Aya de León
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Light-skinned Andréa, 14, and her Latinx family spy for a secret organization protecting people of color. Her first assignment: befriend a white supremacist's son.
Aya de León
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Light-skinned Andréa, 14, and her Latinx family spy for a secret organization protecting people of color. Her first assignment: befriend a white supremacist's son.
Underground Fire: Hope, Sacrifice, and Courage in the Cherry Mine Disaster
Sally M. Walker
Illustrator: Rita Csizmadia
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
A harrowing minute-by-minute account of a 1909 coal mine disaster and the attempt to rescue the miners. Maps, diagrams, and archival photos and images.
Sally M. Walker
Illustrator: Rita Csizmadia
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
A harrowing minute-by-minute account of a 1909 coal mine disaster and the attempt to rescue the miners. Maps, diagrams, and archival photos and images.
Unfadeable
Maurice Broaddus
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Homeless, street-smart, biracial Bella, 13, is determined to get funding for an art project for her neglected neighborhood. With a mysterious mentor's help, she battles powerful entrenched interests.
Maurice Broaddus
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Homeless, street-smart, biracial Bella, 13, is determined to get funding for an art project for her neglected neighborhood. With a mysterious mentor's help, she battles powerful entrenched interests.
Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist For Justice
Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes
Illustrator: Dawud Anyabwile
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
A track-and-field champion's raised fist on the medal podium at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico became an iconic image of the struggle against racial injustice. Stirring black-and-white panels.
Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes
Illustrator: Dawud Anyabwile
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
A track-and-field champion's raised fist on the medal podium at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico became an iconic image of the struggle against racial injustice. Stirring black-and-white panels.
Wave
Diana Farid
Illustrator: Kris Goto
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
In 1980s Southern California, surfing with Phoenix is the only time Ava, a Persian American teen, feels she belongs. Then . . . Free verse and concrete poetry. Black-and-white spot illustrations.
Diana Farid
Illustrator: Kris Goto
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
In 1980s Southern California, surfing with Phoenix is the only time Ava, a Persian American teen, feels she belongs. Then . . . Free verse and concrete poetry. Black-and-white spot illustrations.
We Are Wolves
Katrina Nannestad
Illustrator: Martina Heiduczek
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
During World War II, when the Russian Army invades East Prussia, three siblings, separated from their mother, live in the woods to survive. Somber black-and-white illustrations.
Katrina Nannestad
Illustrator: Martina Heiduczek
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
During World War II, when the Russian Army invades East Prussia, three siblings, separated from their mother, live in the woods to survive. Somber black-and-white illustrations.
Well, The
Jake Wyatt
Illustrator: Choo
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
On an imagined Chinese archipelago, a girl with magical abilities steals three coins from a wishing well. Her punishment: fulfill the wishes. Dramatic Chinese motif illustrations.
Jake Wyatt
Illustrator: Choo
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
On an imagined Chinese archipelago, a girl with magical abilities steals three coins from a wishing well. Her punishment: fulfill the wishes. Dramatic Chinese motif illustrations.
We Own the Sky
Rodman Philbrick
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
In 1924 Maine, two orphaned children get to live and work with daring stunt pilots. But the real danger is on the ground: the hate-spewing KKK. Back matter.
Rodman Philbrick
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
In 1924 Maine, two orphaned children get to live and work with daring stunt pilots. But the real danger is on the ground: the hate-spewing KKK. Back matter.
We're in This Together
Linda Sarsour
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
A Palestinian Muslim American grew up as a child of immigrants in Brooklyn, New York, and became an activist and organizer. Informational sidebars, glossary, endnotes. Young readers edition of We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders
Linda Sarsour
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
A Palestinian Muslim American grew up as a child of immigrants in Brooklyn, New York, and became an activist and organizer. Informational sidebars, glossary, endnotes. Young readers edition of We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders
When Winter Robeson Came
Brenda Woods
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
On the cusp of the Watts race riots of 1965, a Black family hosts a young out-of-town cousin seeking his father, who disappeared ten years earlier. Free verse.
Brenda Woods
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
On the cusp of the Watts race riots of 1965, a Black family hosts a young out-of-town cousin seeking his father, who disappeared ten years earlier. Free verse.
Where Have All the Birds Gone?: Nature in Crisis
Rebecca E. Hirsch
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Tall glass buildings, plastic trash, and widespread planting of nonnative plant species that don't support insects that native birds feed on are among the many threats to birds' survival. Maps, photos, and archival images. Sources, glossary, suggested reading.
Rebecca E. Hirsch
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Tall glass buildings, plastic trash, and widespread planting of nonnative plant species that don't support insects that native birds feed on are among the many threats to birds' survival. Maps, photos, and archival images. Sources, glossary, suggested reading.
Wind Rises, The (Alma series)
Timothée de Fombelle
Illustrator: François Place
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
The lives of a young African girl and a young European stowaway on board a slave ship in 1786 intertwine. Meticulously written. Finely detailed black-and-white illustrations.
Timothée de Fombelle
Illustrator: François Place
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
The lives of a young African girl and a young European stowaway on board a slave ship in 1786 intertwine. Meticulously written. Finely detailed black-and-white illustrations.
Wishing upon the Same Stars
Jacquetta Nammar Feldman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Will it be possible for seventh graders Yasmeen, Palestinian American, and Ayelet, Jewish Israeli American, to overcome parental prejudices and classroom bullying to form a friendship?
Jacquetta Nammar Feldman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Will it be possible for seventh graders Yasmeen, Palestinian American, and Ayelet, Jewish Israeli American, to overcome parental prejudices and classroom bullying to form a friendship?
Woman Who Split the Atom, The: The Life of Lise Meitner
Marissa Moss
Illustrator: Marissa Moss
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
In 1938, despite misogyny and antisemitism, Lise Meitner discovered how to split uranium and revolutionized nuclear science. Pen and ink graphic inserts, archival photographs. Back matter.
Marissa Moss
Illustrator: Marissa Moss
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
In 1938, despite misogyny and antisemitism, Lise Meitner discovered how to split uranium and revolutionized nuclear science. Pen and ink graphic inserts, archival photographs. Back matter.
Worser
Jennifer Ziegler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Introverted Worser, 12, has always lost himself in words. After his mother has a stroke that leaves her nonverbal, he must learn new ways to navigate his world.
Jennifer Ziegler
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Introverted Worser, 12, has always lost himself in words. After his mother has a stroke that leaves her nonverbal, he must learn new ways to navigate his world.
Year the Maps Changed, The
Danielle Binks
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
In 1999, 11-year-old Winifred, aka Fred, sees her nuclear family expand as Australia starts to receive Albanian refugees from Yugoslavia.
Danielle Binks
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
In 1999, 11-year-old Winifred, aka Fred, sees her nuclear family expand as Australia starts to receive Albanian refugees from Yugoslavia.