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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Goodbye from Nowhere
Sara Zarr
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
With a girlfriend and a loving extended family, life is good for Kyle -- until he learns his mother is having an affair.
Sara Zarr
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
With a girlfriend and a loving extended family, life is good for Kyle -- until he learns his mother is having an affair.
Gravity of Us, The
Phil Stamper
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Seventeen-year-old Cal's ambition to be a journalist and his quest for a boyfriend could be scuttled by his father's sudden acceptance into a space mission to Mars.
Phil Stamper
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Seventeen-year-old Cal's ambition to be a journalist and his quest for a boyfriend could be scuttled by his father's sudden acceptance into a space mission to Mars.
Hard Wired
Len Vlahos
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Quinn discovers his entire life is an AI fabrication. What does it mean to be sentient, to be real? Who has the right to control someone's life?
Len Vlahos
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Quinn discovers his entire life is an AI fabrication. What does it mean to be sentient, to be real? Who has the right to control someone's life?
Hello Now
Jenny Valentine
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Out of an ordinary, futureless existence, Jude finds Novo and boundless love in a timeless, magical moment, and comes to understand love and loss.
Jenny Valentine
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Out of an ordinary, futureless existence, Jude finds Novo and boundless love in a timeless, magical moment, and comes to understand love and loss.
Henna Wars, The
Adiba Jaigirdar
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Working to balance her Muslim Bengali family background with the culture of her predominantly White Irish girls' school, 16-year-old Nishut, is also challenged by her growing lesbian identity.
Adiba Jaigirdar
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Working to balance her Muslim Bengali family background with the culture of her predominantly White Irish girls' school, 16-year-old Nishut, is also challenged by her growing lesbian identity.
Here the Whole Time
Vitor Martins
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When Felipe's mom announces that Caio - his neighbor and lifelong crush - will stay with them for 15 days, he must confront his shyness and body image insecurities.
Vitor Martins
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When Felipe's mom announces that Caio - his neighbor and lifelong crush - will stay with them for 15 days, he must confront his shyness and body image insecurities.
Hood
Jenny Elder Moke
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
From a quiet life in a medieval convent to violence and treachery in surrounding villas, Isabelle searches for the legendary father she has never known: Robin Hood.
Jenny Elder Moke
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
From a quiet life in a medieval convent to violence and treachery in surrounding villas, Isabelle searches for the legendary father she has never known: Robin Hood.
Hopeful Heart, A: Louisa May Alcott Before Little Women
Deborah Noyes
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Well-connected socially and intellectually but poverty stricken, Alcott is portrayed as a caring, brave, driven, and talented woman living in a complex world.
Deborah Noyes
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Well-connected socially and intellectually but poverty stricken, Alcott is portrayed as a caring, brave, driven, and talented woman living in a complex world.
How It All Blew Up
Arvin Ahmadi
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When a blackmailing classmate threatens to out him to his conservative Persian parents, Amir bolts to Rome, where new friends teach him the joy of gay culture and community.
Arvin Ahmadi
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When a blackmailing classmate threatens to out him to his conservative Persian parents, Amir bolts to Rome, where new friends teach him the joy of gay culture and community.
I Am Here Now
Barbara Bottner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
A teenager and her 12-year-old brother live with an abusive mother. Despite her father's absence she strives to find solace and strength. Free verse. Abuse resources.
Barbara Bottner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
A teenager and her 12-year-old brother live with an abusive mother. Despite her father's absence she strives to find solace and strength. Free verse. Abuse resources.
If These Wings Could Fly
Kyrie McCauley
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Seventeen-year-old Leighton struggles to protect her sisters and mom from her father's domestic abuse but longs to flee herself.
Kyrie McCauley
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Seventeen-year-old Leighton struggles to protect her sisters and mom from her father's domestic abuse but longs to flee herself.
I'll Be the One
Lyla Lee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Sixteen-year-old Korean American Skye dreams of becoming a K-pop star, but everyone - especially her mother - says that fat girls can't dance. Can she prove them wrong?
Lyla Lee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Sixteen-year-old Korean American Skye dreams of becoming a K-pop star, but everyone - especially her mother - says that fat girls can't dance. Can she prove them wrong?
Inheritance Games, The
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Avery, an impoverished teenager, suddenly inherits a multi-billion dollar legacy, but along with it comes a family rife with rivalry, jealousy, and secrets.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Avery, an impoverished teenager, suddenly inherits a multi-billion dollar legacy, but along with it comes a family rife with rivalry, jealousy, and secrets.
In Search of Safety: Voices of Refugees
Susan Kuklin
Illustrator: Susan Kuklin, photographer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Five refugees from three Asian and two African countries describe the danger they fled to seek safe new lives in the United States. Color photographs. Extensive back matter.
Susan Kuklin
Illustrator: Susan Kuklin, photographer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Five refugees from three Asian and two African countries describe the danger they fled to seek safe new lives in the United States. Color photographs. Extensive back matter.
Invisible Differences: A Story of Asperger's, Adulting, and Living a Life in Full Color
Julie Dachez; Inspired by and in Collaboration with Fabienne Vaslet
Illustrator: Adaptation, Illustration and Colors by Mademoiselle Caroline
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When Marguerite, 27, receives an Asperger's diagnosis, she begins to change her way of living. The illustrations' palette varies more as she learns about herself. Back matter.
Julie Dachez; Inspired by and in Collaboration with Fabienne Vaslet
Illustrator: Adaptation, Illustration and Colors by Mademoiselle Caroline
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When Marguerite, 27, receives an Asperger's diagnosis, she begins to change her way of living. The illustrations' palette varies more as she learns about herself. Back matter.
Iron Will of Genie Lo, The
F.C. Yee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Genie wants a normal senior year, but she's the reincarnation of a magical weapon of Chinese legend, and a demon has just started an extra-dimensional war.
F.C. Yee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Genie wants a normal senior year, but she's the reincarnation of a magical weapon of Chinese legend, and a demon has just started an extra-dimensional war.
It Came From the Sky
Chelsea Sedoti
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When gay, teenaged Gideon's science experiment including explosives goes awry, he and his brother blame the gaping hole in a nearby cornfield on extraterrestrial activity.
Chelsea Sedoti
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When gay, teenaged Gideon's science experiment including explosives goes awry, he and his brother blame the gaping hole in a nearby cornfield on extraterrestrial activity.
It Only Happens in the Movies
Holly Bourne
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Audrey gave up on romance before meeting aspiring filmmaker Harry at the cinema where they both work. Does real love look like love in the movies? Sexual content.
Holly Bourne
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Audrey gave up on romance before meeting aspiring filmmaker Harry at the cinema where they both work. Does real love look like love in the movies? Sexual content.
Just Breathe
Cammie McGovern
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Friendless Jamie, recovering from depression, volunteers at the hospital where ultrapopular David has been admitted for cystic fibrosis. They might be the only ones who understand each other.
Cammie McGovern
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Friendless Jamie, recovering from depression, volunteers at the hospital where ultrapopular David has been admitted for cystic fibrosis. They might be the only ones who understand each other.
Last Words
Leanne Baugh
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Sixteen-year-old Claire meets a young man on a Vancouver bridge, who says "I'm sorry," and jumps off. The narrative follows Claire's reactions to this horrific event.
Leanne Baugh
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Sixteen-year-old Claire meets a young man on a Vancouver bridge, who says "I'm sorry," and jumps off. The narrative follows Claire's reactions to this horrific event.
Light in Hidden Places, The
Sharon Cameron
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Based on the unpublished memoir of Stefania Podgórska, 17-year-old Fusia, a Catholic, harbors 13 Jews during wartime Poland. Harrowing, inspirational. Family interviews, author's note, photographs.
Sharon Cameron
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Based on the unpublished memoir of Stefania Podgórska, 17-year-old Fusia, a Catholic, harbors 13 Jews during wartime Poland. Harrowing, inspirational. Family interviews, author's note, photographs.
Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel
Jason Reynolds
Illustrator: Danica Novgorodoff
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
A young teen struggles to decide if avenging his brother's killing is the right thing to do. Lyrical text with ink and watercolor illustrations.
Jason Reynolds
Illustrator: Danica Novgorodoff
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
A young teen struggles to decide if avenging his brother's killing is the right thing to do. Lyrical text with ink and watercolor illustrations.
Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know
Samira Ahmed
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
In Paris, French-Indian-American Khayyam hunts for a rumored lost Delacroix painting given to famed author Alexandre Dumas, with Dumas' sixth-great-grandson.
Samira Ahmed
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
In Paris, French-Indian-American Khayyam hunts for a rumored lost Delacroix painting given to famed author Alexandre Dumas, with Dumas' sixth-great-grandson.
Making Friends with Alice Dyson
Poppy Nwosu
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Studious Alice quietly devotes herself to her parents' expectations. In her senior year, everything changes with her unexpected friendship with Teddy Taualai, the school outcast.
Poppy Nwosu
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Studious Alice quietly devotes herself to her parents' expectations. In her senior year, everything changes with her unexpected friendship with Teddy Taualai, the school outcast.
Map to the Sun, A
Sloane Leong
Illustrator: Sloane Leong
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Through sunset-inspired graphic illustrations, five friends and an optimistic coach struggle on and off the court as they start a girl's high school basketball team.
Sloane Leong
Illustrator: Sloane Leong
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Through sunset-inspired graphic illustrations, five friends and an optimistic coach struggle on and off the court as they start a girl's high school basketball team.