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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Bluebird
Sharon Cameron
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
The daughter of a notorious concentration camp doctor makes it her mission at the end of WWII to keep him from committing more atrocities.
Sharon Cameron
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
The daughter of a notorious concentration camp doctor makes it her mission at the end of WWII to keep him from committing more atrocities.
Boy from Buchenwald, The True Story of a Holocaust Survivor
Robbie Waisman, with Susan McClelland
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Romek (now Robbie) was 14 when liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945. Here he chronicles his survival and return to society. Photos, backmatter.
Robbie Waisman, with Susan McClelland
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Romek (now Robbie) was 14 when liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945. Here he chronicles his survival and return to society. Photos, backmatter.
Burning, The: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 (Adapted for young people)
Tim Madigan (adapted by Hilary Beard)
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
This detailed account of White rioters' destruction of Greenwood, a prosperous Oklahoman Black community, includes updates connecting the event to the Black Lives Matter movement. Extensive back matter. Young readers edition.
Tim Madigan (adapted by Hilary Beard)
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
This detailed account of White rioters' destruction of Greenwood, a prosperous Oklahoman Black community, includes updates connecting the event to the Black Lives Matter movement. Extensive back matter. Young readers edition.
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History (YR Edition)
Jeff Chang, with Dave "Davey D" Cook
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
The birth and evolution of hip-hop are chronicled through histories and profiles of pioneering artists and their cultural and political contexts.
Jeff Chang, with Dave "Davey D" Cook
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
The birth and evolution of hip-hop are chronicled through histories and profiles of pioneering artists and their cultural and political contexts.
Carry On: Poetry by Young Immigrants
Students from the PGLO high school in Outremont, Quebec; Simon Bolerice, Ed.
Illustrator: Rogé
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Newcomers from many lands express loss and pain about what they've left behind, and hopes and concerns about their new homes. Free verse. Expressively painted portraits.
Students from the PGLO high school in Outremont, Quebec; Simon Bolerice, Ed.
Illustrator: Rogé
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Newcomers from many lands express loss and pain about what they've left behind, and hopes and concerns about their new homes. Free verse. Expressively painted portraits.
Cheer Up!: Love and Pompoms
Crystal Frasier
Illustrator: Val Wise & Oscar O. Jupiter
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Annie joins the cheerleading squad, rekindling her friendship with Bebe, a transgender girl who is navigating her path with family and school relationships. Bright, colorful illustrations.
Crystal Frasier
Illustrator: Val Wise & Oscar O. Jupiter
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Annie joins the cheerleading squad, rekindling her friendship with Bebe, a transgender girl who is navigating her path with family and school relationships. Bright, colorful illustrations.
Chlorine Sky
Mahogany L. Browne
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
A self-effacing African-American girl who shines on the basketball court comes to find her voice and embrace her strength. Free verse.
Mahogany L. Browne
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
A self-effacing African-American girl who shines on the basketball court comes to find her voice and embrace her strength. Free verse.
Concrete Rose
Angie Thomas
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Maverick, 17, accepts the responsibilities that come with fatherhood while struggling with loyalty to the gang that protected him after his father's imprisonment. Strong language. [25]
Angie Thomas
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Maverick, 17, accepts the responsibilities that come with fatherhood while struggling with loyalty to the gang that protected him after his father's imprisonment. Strong language. [25]
Cost of Knowing, The
Brittney Morris
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
African-American brothers Alex and Isaiah are cursed with supernatural abilities that have arisen out of generational traumas; now they need each other to break the cycle.
Brittney Morris
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
African-American brothers Alex and Isaiah are cursed with supernatural abilities that have arisen out of generational traumas; now they need each other to break the cycle.
Destination Anywhere
Sara Barnard
Illustrator: Christiane Fürtges
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Peyton is 17 years old and has never had a real friend. She leaves England in a plane bound for Vancouver hoping to change her life story. Black-and-white spot art.
Sara Barnard
Illustrator: Christiane Fürtges
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Peyton is 17 years old and has never had a real friend. She leaves England in a plane bound for Vancouver hoping to change her life story. Black-and-white spot art.
Determined to Stay: Palestinian Youth Fight for Their Village
Jody Sokolower
Illustrator: Various
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
An American social studies teacher interviews Palestinian youth about their heartbreaking trauma under Israeli occupation, connecting their resistance to that of Native Americans. Photos, maps. Glossary, footnotes.
Jody Sokolower
Illustrator: Various
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
An American social studies teacher interviews Palestinian youth about their heartbreaking trauma under Israeli occupation, connecting their resistance to that of Native Americans. Photos, maps. Glossary, footnotes.
Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today (Adapted for Young Adults)
Alice Wong, Ed.
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
From an outgrowth of the Disability Visibility Project and Story Corps come personal stories, of living and loving with disabilities. Content warnings, author profiles, further reading.
Alice Wong, Ed.
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
From an outgrowth of the Disability Visibility Project and Story Corps come personal stories, of living and loving with disabilities. Content warnings, author profiles, further reading.
Don't Breathe a Word
Jordyn Taylor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Skipping between 1962 and today, the book unravels the secret behind an authoritarian secret society, and a psychological experiment that goes tragically wrong in a private school's fallout shelter.
Jordyn Taylor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Skipping between 1962 and today, the book unravels the secret behind an authoritarian secret society, and a psychological experiment that goes tragically wrong in a private school's fallout shelter.
Dustborn
Erin Bowman
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
In a post-apocalyptic world, Delta struggles to interpret the map carved on her back that will free her family from the tyranny of the General.
Erin Bowman
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
In a post-apocalyptic world, Delta struggles to interpret the map carved on her back that will free her family from the tyranny of the General.
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town
Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
A wildfire and missing girl provide the backdrop for this captivating collection: nine exquisitely written stories of the struggles and triumphs of small-town teens.
Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
A wildfire and missing girl provide the backdrop for this captivating collection: nine exquisitely written stories of the struggles and triumphs of small-town teens.
Firekeeper's Daughter
Angeline Boulley
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
As her Ojibwe community is ravaged by drug overdoses, Daunis, 17, works with the FBI to identify the dealers. A richly detailed view of tribal life.
Angeline Boulley
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
As her Ojibwe community is ravaged by drug overdoses, Daunis, 17, works with the FBI to identify the dealers. A richly detailed view of tribal life.
Four Streets and a Square: A History of Manhattan and the New York Idea
Marc Aronson
Illustrator: Illus. with archival photos.
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
An ode to the city's endless change through a look at the arts and creativity as a result of the great diversity of its population. Photos, maps, excellent back matter.
Marc Aronson
Illustrator: Illus. with archival photos.
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
An ode to the city's endless change through a look at the arts and creativity as a result of the great diversity of its population. Photos, maps, excellent back matter.
Free Speech Handbook: A Practical Framework for Understanding Our Free Speech Protections (World Citizen Comics series)
Ian Rosenberg
Illustrator: Mike Cavallaro
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
This graphic-format adaptation of The Fight for Free Speech: Ten Cases that Define Our First Amendment Freedoms is a must for every civics classroom. Colorful artwork.
Ian Rosenberg
Illustrator: Mike Cavallaro
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
This graphic-format adaptation of The Fight for Free Speech: Ten Cases that Define Our First Amendment Freedoms is a must for every civics classroom. Colorful artwork.
Girl on the Line
Faith Gardner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Following a suicide attempt, Journey reassesses, advocates for herself, and rebuilds family and social relationships. Back matter with health resources.
Faith Gardner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Following a suicide attempt, Journey reassesses, advocates for herself, and rebuilds family and social relationships. Back matter with health resources.
Girl Who Became a Tree, The: A Story Told in Poems
Joseph Coelho
Illustrator: Kate Milner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Fourteen-year-old Daphne, mourning her father's death, finds refuge in the library until she falls into a magical world of monsters. Free verse; black-and-white spot illustrations.
Joseph Coelho
Illustrator: Kate Milner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Fourteen-year-old Daphne, mourning her father's death, finds refuge in the library until she falls into a magical world of monsters. Free verse; black-and-white spot illustrations.
Glimpsed
G. F. Miller
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Charity, 18, is an actual fairy godmother who loves making wishes come true, but those "happily-ever-afters" might be less successful than she thinks.
G. F. Miller
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Charity, 18, is an actual fairy godmother who loves making wishes come true, but those "happily-ever-afters" might be less successful than she thinks.
Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood
Gary Paulsen
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Gary's first experience with a stable family at his aunt's farm comes to an abrupt end when his alcoholic mother comes to take him to the Philippines.
Gary Paulsen
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Gary's first experience with a stable family at his aunt's farm comes to an abrupt end when his alcoholic mother comes to take him to the Philippines.
Great Godden, The
Meg Rosoff
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
An unnamed and gender-unrevealed narrator chronicles, in elegant prose, an English summer romance and the resulting upheaval produced by a visit from two American siblings.
Meg Rosoff
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
An unnamed and gender-unrevealed narrator chronicles, in elegant prose, an English summer romance and the resulting upheaval produced by a visit from two American siblings.
Growing Up Trans: In Our Own Words
Dr. Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry, editors
Illustrator: various
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
In a variety of writing genres and art media, trans youth explore their experiences of self-care, dysphoria, transphobia, acceptance, school issues, and more. Glossary and resources.
Dr. Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry, editors
Illustrator: various
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
In a variety of writing genres and art media, trans youth explore their experiences of self-care, dysphoria, transphobia, acceptance, school issues, and more. Glossary and resources.
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating
Adiba Jaigirdar
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Two Bengali girls in Ireland, one Muslim, one Hindu, couldn't have more different personalities. They pretend to date others, but fall for one another.
Adiba Jaigirdar
Ages: 14+
Published: 2021
Two Bengali girls in Ireland, one Muslim, one Hindu, couldn't have more different personalities. They pretend to date others, but fall for one another.