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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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.
You Are More Than Magic: The Black and Brown Girls' Guide to Finding Your Voice
Minda Harts
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Hart's unrelentingly positive push to aid Black and brown girls achieve personal, academic, and professional success is matter-of-fact and sensitive.
Minda Harts
Ages: 12+
Published: 2022
Hart's unrelentingly positive push to aid Black and brown girls achieve personal, academic, and professional success is matter-of-fact and sensitive.
Accused: My Story of Injustice (I, Witness series)
Adama Bah
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Bah, who was born in Guinea and grew up in New York City, didn't know she was not American until 9/11. Then suddenly she was falsely accused of being a suicide bomber.
Adama Bah
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Bah, who was born in Guinea and grew up in New York City, didn't know she was not American until 9/11. Then suddenly she was falsely accused of being a suicide bomber.
Across the Pond
Joy McCullough
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
After Callie moves to an inherited castle in Scotland, she overcomes her unhappy American middle school experience, makes friends, and develops an interest in birdwatching.
Joy McCullough
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
After Callie moves to an inherited castle in Scotland, she overcomes her unhappy American middle school experience, makes friends, and develops an interest in birdwatching.
Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year
Nina Hamza
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Moving from Hawaii to Minnesota would be challenging even if Ahmed's dad were not critically ill. The bullying neighbor assigned to his group project adds to his tension.
Nina Hamza
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Moving from Hawaii to Minnesota would be challenging even if Ahmed's dad were not critically ill. The bullying neighbor assigned to his group project adds to his tension.
Alone
Megan E. Freeman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Maddie wakes from a cancelled sleepover to find her Colorado town has been evacuated. Shuttling between the homes of her divorced parents, she struggles to survive. Free verse.
Megan E. Freeman
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Maddie wakes from a cancelled sleepover to find her Colorado town has been evacuated. Shuttling between the homes of her divorced parents, she struggles to survive. Free verse.
Amari and the Night Brothers (Supernatural Investigations series)
B.B. Alston
Illustrator: Godwin Akpan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Brave and resourceful Amari, bullied for being Black and determined to find her long-missing brother, receives an invitation in his handwriting to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Black-and-white illustrations.
B.B. Alston
Illustrator: Godwin Akpan
Ages: 12+
Published: 2021
Brave and resourceful Amari, bullied for being Black and determined to find her long-missing brother, receives an invitation in his handwriting to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Black-and-white illustrations.