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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49 Days
Agnes Lee
Illustrator: Agnes Lee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
As family and friends mourn, Korean American Kit reflects on her life while navigating the Buddhist transition period between death and rebirth. Muted brush, pen, ink, and digital illustrations.
Agnes Lee
Illustrator: Agnes Lee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
As family and friends mourn, Korean American Kit reflects on her life while navigating the Buddhist transition period between death and rebirth. Muted brush, pen, ink, and digital illustrations.
Age 16
Rosena Fung
Illustrator: Rosena Fung, colors by Rachel Nam
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Chinese Canadian Roz and her Chinese mother and grandmother each contend with restrictive cultural norms. Interwoven stories of three generations. Comic art with a unique color for each time period.
Rosena Fung
Illustrator: Rosena Fung, colors by Rachel Nam
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Chinese Canadian Roz and her Chinese mother and grandmother each contend with restrictive cultural norms. Interwoven stories of three generations. Comic art with a unique color for each time period.
Amazing Grapes
Jules Feiffer
Illustrator: Jules Feiffer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Transported to an alternate dimension, a family embarks on a phantasmagorical, emotionally draining adventure. Feiffer's signature sketchy artwork is enhanced with color.
Jules Feiffer
Illustrator: Jules Feiffer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Transported to an alternate dimension, a family embarks on a phantasmagorical, emotionally draining adventure. Feiffer's signature sketchy artwork is enhanced with color.
American Wings: Chicago's Pioneering Black Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky
Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
A comprehensive history of how determined Black pilots, beginning in the early 20th century, rose above racism and segregation. Achival photographs. Extensive back matter.
Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
A comprehensive history of how determined Black pilots, beginning in the early 20th century, rose above racism and segregation. Achival photographs. Extensive back matter.
Animals Rising
D. J. Panec
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
In an alternate Earth, giant Mira, 17, rescues Hawk, a wild human, from being killed and eaten. But Hawk has come from his forest village on a dangerous mission.
D. J. Panec
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
In an alternate Earth, giant Mira, 17, rescues Hawk, a wild human, from being killed and eaten. But Hawk has come from his forest village on a dangerous mission.
Ariel Crashes a Train
Olivia A. Cole
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Queer 17-year-old Ariel experiences violent compulsions as a monster inside her. Will new friends support her efforts to break the spiral of intrusive thoughts? Free verse. Mature content
Olivia A. Cole
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Queer 17-year-old Ariel experiences violent compulsions as a monster inside her. Will new friends support her efforts to break the spiral of intrusive thoughts? Free verse. Mature content
Ash's Cabin
Jen Wang
Illustrator: Jen Wang
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Nonbinary outlier Ash, 15, decides to live alone in their grandfather's remote cabin with their dog Chase. This proves to be more difficult than they had thought. Earthtone watercolor illustrations.
Jen Wang
Illustrator: Jen Wang
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Nonbinary outlier Ash, 15, decides to live alone in their grandfather's remote cabin with their dog Chase. This proves to be more difficult than they had thought. Earthtone watercolor illustrations.
Atlas of Us, The
Kristin Dwyer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Atlas spirals downward following her father's death, drops out of school, and loses her job. Court-mandated community service on a wilderness trail allows her to reinvent herself. Mature content
Kristin Dwyer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Atlas spirals downward following her father's death, drops out of school, and loses her job. Court-mandated community service on a wilderness trail allows her to reinvent herself. Mature content
Ballad of Darcy & Russell, The
Morgan Matson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Darcy and Russell meet after a music festival and have an immediate connection, but family secrets may tear them apart. Mature content
Morgan Matson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Darcy and Russell meet after a music festival and have an immediate connection, but family secrets may tear them apart. Mature content
Be a Scribe!: Working for a Better Life in Ancient Egypt
Michael Hoffen, Christian Casey and Jen Thum
Illustrator: images selected by Michael Hoffen and Christian Casey
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
This translation of a papyrus dating from ancient Egypt's Middle Kingdom tells the story of a teenage boy living almost 4,000 years ago. Photographs of artifacts and reproductions of artwork.
Michael Hoffen, Christian Casey and Jen Thum
Illustrator: images selected by Michael Hoffen and Christian Casey
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
This translation of a papyrus dating from ancient Egypt's Middle Kingdom tells the story of a teenage boy living almost 4,000 years ago. Photographs of artifacts and reproductions of artwork.
Bite Me, Royce Taslim
Lauren Ho
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
After an injury ends her track career, Chinese Malaysian high school senior Agnes Chan turns to stand-up comedy to excel, competing against her former athletic archrival.
Lauren Ho
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
After an injury ends her track career, Chinese Malaysian high school senior Agnes Chan turns to stand-up comedy to excel, competing against her former athletic archrival.
Black Girl Survives in This One, The: Horror Stories
Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell, editors
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Fifteen suspenseful stories center Black girls who triumph over human and paranormal evil.
Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell, editors
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Fifteen suspenseful stories center Black girls who triumph over human and paranormal evil.
Break to You
Neal Shusterman, Debra Young, and Michelle Knowlden
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
When Jon, a Black teen, finds Adriana's hidden journal, the two inmates in a gender-segregated juvenile detention center start a dangerous, forbidden correspondence.
Neal Shusterman, Debra Young, and Michelle Knowlden
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
When Jon, a Black teen, finds Adriana's hidden journal, the two inmates in a gender-segregated juvenile detention center start a dangerous, forbidden correspondence.
Breathing Underwater
Abbey Lee Nash
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Swimming is a refuge for Tess. Her hopes for a scholarship hinge on her performances, but a diagnosis of epilepsy changes those plans.
Abbey Lee Nash
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Swimming is a refuge for Tess. Her hopes for a scholarship hinge on her performances, but a diagnosis of epilepsy changes those plans.
Bridge Across the Sky
Freeman Ng
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
While awaiting the fate-determining entrance interview, in 1924 a Chinese boy hoping to enter the U.S. endures detention at the infamous Angel Island Immigration Station. Free verse. Historical notes.
Freeman Ng
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
While awaiting the fate-determining entrance interview, in 1924 a Chinese boy hoping to enter the U.S. endures detention at the infamous Angel Island Immigration Station. Free verse. Historical notes.
Bright Red Fruit
Safia Elhillo
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
A modern telling of the Persephone story, in a variety of verse forms, explores the motivation of the character, caught between conflicting desires. Layered, believable, and compelling. Mature content
Safia Elhillo
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
A modern telling of the Persephone story, in a variety of verse forms, explores the motivation of the character, caught between conflicting desires. Layered, believable, and compelling. Mature content
Brownstone
Samuel Teer
Illustrator: illustrated by Mar Julia, color design by Ashanti Fortson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
The summer she turns 15, Almudena meets her Guatemalan father, helps him renovate his house, and grows close to her Latine neighbors. Colorful digital artwork.
Samuel Teer
Illustrator: illustrated by Mar Julia, color design by Ashanti Fortson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
The summer she turns 15, Almudena meets her Guatemalan father, helps him renovate his house, and grows close to her Latine neighbors. Colorful digital artwork.
Bunt!: Striking Out on Financial Aid
Ngozi Ukazu
Illustrator: Mad Rupert, colors by K Czap
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
When her scholarship unexpectedly falls through, Molly Bauer, a queer Black girl, discovers a loophole to afford her art school tuition: athletics. Colorful digital illustrations.
Ngozi Ukazu
Illustrator: Mad Rupert, colors by K Czap
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
When her scholarship unexpectedly falls through, Molly Bauer, a queer Black girl, discovers a loophole to afford her art school tuition: athletics. Colorful digital illustrations.
Calculation of You and Me, The
Serena Kaylor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Seventeen-year old Marlowe, a math-science whiz on the autism spectrum, is devastated when boyfriend Josh dumps her. She is determined to get him back, enlisting the aid of a new friend.
Serena Kaylor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Seventeen-year old Marlowe, a math-science whiz on the autism spectrum, is devastated when boyfriend Josh dumps her. She is determined to get him back, enlisting the aid of a new friend.
Call Me Iggy
Jorge Aguirre, story by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado
Illustrator: Rafael Rosado, colors by John Novak
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
After accidentally releasing his abuelito's ghost, Iggy connects with his Colombian roots and develops his own identity as he begins high school. Expressive artwork.
Jorge Aguirre, story by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado
Illustrator: Rafael Rosado, colors by John Novak
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
After accidentally releasing his abuelito's ghost, Iggy connects with his Colombian roots and develops his own identity as he begins high school. Expressive artwork.
Color of a Lie, The
Kim Johnson
Illustrator: map by Mike Hall
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
In 1955 Calvin Greene, a Black teen from Chicago, has moved with his family to Pennsylvania and is "passing" there. While adjusting to his school, he is forced to decide where to place his loyalties. Detailed map. Greyscale spot art. Mature content
Kim Johnson
Illustrator: map by Mike Hall
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
In 1955 Calvin Greene, a Black teen from Chicago, has moved with his family to Pennsylvania and is "passing" there. While adjusting to his school, he is forced to decide where to place his loyalties. Detailed map. Greyscale spot art. Mature content
Compass and Blade
Rachel Greenlaw
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Living on an island that survives by looting shipwrecks, Mira longs for the outside world. When authorities arrest her father, Mira springs into action to save him. Mature content
Rachel Greenlaw
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Living on an island that survives by looting shipwrecks, Mira longs for the outside world. When authorities arrest her father, Mira springs into action to save him. Mature content
Conditions of a Heart
Bethany Mangle
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
When hiding a medical disability complicates her relationships and gets her suspended from school, Brynn rethinks the need to keep her secret.
Bethany Mangle
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
When hiding a medical disability complicates her relationships and gets her suspended from school, Brynn rethinks the need to keep her secret.
Constellation of Minor Bears, A
Jen Ferguson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Molly couldn't wait for this post-graduation trip, but now she holds Traylor responsible for her brother's near-fatal climbing accident. What will happen on the epic trek? Told from three perspectives.
Jen Ferguson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Molly couldn't wait for this post-graduation trip, but now she holds Traylor responsible for her brother's near-fatal climbing accident. What will happen on the epic trek? Told from three perspectives.
Daniel, Deconstructed
James Ramos
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Figuring out feelings is hard for Daniel, who is on the autism spectrum, but he thinks Gabe and Mona would be a perfect match. Is he right?
James Ramos
Ages: 14+
Published: 2024
Figuring out feelings is hard for Daniel, who is on the autism spectrum, but he thinks Gabe and Mona would be a perfect match. Is he right?