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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Somebody Give This Heart a Pen
Sophia Thakur
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
This poetic exploration and search for personal identity is broken up into five growth cycles, examining themes such as family, friends, love, and race.
Sophia Thakur
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
This poetic exploration and search for personal identity is broken up into five growth cycles, examining themes such as family, friends, love, and race.
Splinters of Scarlet
Emily Bain Murphy
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
In 19th century Denmark, Marit's father died in a suspicious accident. Can Marit's magical abilities solve the mystery and save others suffering from deadly, magical sickness?
Emily Bain Murphy
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
In 19th century Denmark, Marit's father died in a suspicious accident. Can Marit's magical abilities solve the mystery and save others suffering from deadly, magical sickness?
Stay Gold
Tobly McSmith
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Pony is unwilling to reveal he is transgender. Cisgender Georgia has trust issues from a prior relationship. There's an attraction, but what are they willing to risk?
Tobly McSmith
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Pony is unwilling to reveal he is transgender. Cisgender Georgia has trust issues from a prior relationship. There's an attraction, but what are they willing to risk?
Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights
Lawrence Goldstone, foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Illustrator: Archival photography
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Gladstone traces how African Americans have fought for voting rights from 1787 to the 21st century. Archival photos and images. Back matter, sources.
Lawrence Goldstone, foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Illustrator: Archival photography
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Gladstone traces how African Americans have fought for voting rights from 1787 to the 21st century. Archival photos and images. Back matter, sources.
Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling, The
Wai Chim
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Chinese immigrant Anna in Australia must cope with her mother's increasing mental illness, while contending with academic pressure at school and the busy restaurant that supports them.
Wai Chim
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Chinese immigrant Anna in Australia must cope with her mother's increasing mental illness, while contending with academic pressure at school and the busy restaurant that supports them.
Take Me With You
Tara Altebrando
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Four teens are forced to work together to unravel the intrigue behind an eerily prescient black cube that hacks into every aspect of their private lives.
Tara Altebrando
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Four teens are forced to work together to unravel the intrigue behind an eerily prescient black cube that hacks into every aspect of their private lives.
The How & the Why
by Cynthia Hand
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
In alternating letters and first-person narration, an adopted 18-year-old and her birth mother relate the experiences resulting in their separation that might reunite them today.
by Cynthia Hand
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
In alternating letters and first-person narration, an adopted 18-year-old and her birth mother relate the experiences resulting in their separation that might reunite them today.
The Lightness of Hands
Jeff Garvin
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Sixteen-year-old Ellie, bipolar, lives on the road with her father, a brilliant magician whose career is tanking. Can she help him turn things around?
Jeff Garvin
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Sixteen-year-old Ellie, bipolar, lives on the road with her father, a brilliant magician whose career is tanking. Can she help him turn things around?
They Went Left
Monica Hesse
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Having survived two concentration camps during World War II, Zofia, 18, searches for the younger brother who she believes also survived the Holocaust.
Monica Hesse
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Having survived two concentration camps during World War II, Zofia, 18, searches for the younger brother who she believes also survived the Holocaust.
This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work (Empower the Future series)
Tiffany Jewell
Illustrator: Aurélia Durand
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Teens are encouraged to explore, develop a positive racial identity, and work in solidarity against racism. Bold, colorful, dynamic illustrations. Endnotes, glossary, bibliography, further reading.
Tiffany Jewell
Illustrator: Aurélia Durand
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Teens are encouraged to explore, develop a positive racial identity, and work in solidarity against racism. Bold, colorful, dynamic illustrations. Endnotes, glossary, bibliography, further reading.
This is My America
Kim Johnson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Tracy's father sits on death row. Working to overturn his conviction, Tracy investigates the murder of a fellow journalist that may uncover past injustices. Back matter.
Kim Johnson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Tracy's father sits on death row. Working to overturn his conviction, Tracy investigates the murder of a fellow journalist that may uncover past injustices. Back matter.
This is My Brain In Love
I.W. Gregorio
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Jocelyn, 16, feels overwhelmed by academic pressure and the failure of her family's Chinese restaurant. New hire Will secretly grapples with anxiety. Can they help each other?
I.W. Gregorio
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Jocelyn, 16, feels overwhelmed by academic pressure and the failure of her family's Chinese restaurant. New hire Will secretly grapples with anxiety. Can they help each other?
This Is What I Know about Art (Pocket Change Collective series)
Kimberly Drew
Illustrator: Ashley Lukashevsky
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
A black curator, writer, and activist describes her passion for art and for taking action to make art institutions more welcoming spaces for BIPOC audiences and to increase representation of artists of color in museums and galleries. Spot illustrations.
Kimberly Drew
Illustrator: Ashley Lukashevsky
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
A black curator, writer, and activist describes her passion for art and for taking action to make art institutions more welcoming spaces for BIPOC audiences and to increase representation of artists of color in museums and galleries. Spot illustrations.
This Light Between Us: A Novel of World War II
Andrew Fukuda
Illustrator: Euan Cook
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Leaving Manzanar, Japanese American Alex enlist in an all-Nisei combat unit, hoping to find his French Jewish pen-pal, who has disappeared. Black/white illustrations, back matter.
Andrew Fukuda
Illustrator: Euan Cook
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Leaving Manzanar, Japanese American Alex enlist in an all-Nisei combat unit, hoping to find his French Jewish pen-pal, who has disappeared. Black/white illustrations, back matter.
This Train Is Being Held
Ismée Williams
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Isabella, a ballet dancer, and Alex, a baseball player, meet on the subway. They are drawn to each other, but family secrets and societal issues threaten their relationship.
Ismée Williams
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Isabella, a ballet dancer, and Alex, a baseball player, meet on the subway. They are drawn to each other, but family secrets and societal issues threaten their relationship.
Three Things I Know Are True
Betty Culley
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Seventeen-year-old Jonah is brain damaged after accidentally shooting himself with his friend's father's gun. His sister advocates for him while struggling with the aftermath. Free verse.
Betty Culley
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Seventeen-year-old Jonah is brain damaged after accidentally shooting himself with his friend's father's gun. His sister advocates for him while struggling with the aftermath. Free verse.
Tigers, Not Daughters
Samantha Mabry
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When the oldest teenage sister in a contemporary Mexican American family dies, the other three grieve, suffer, and receive different messages from her restless spirit.
Samantha Mabry
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
When the oldest teenage sister in a contemporary Mexican American family dies, the other three grieve, suffer, and receive different messages from her restless spirit.
Together We Caught Fire
Eva V. Gibson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Lane's emotional walls, built after witnessing her mom's suicide thirteen years earlier, are tested by her father's marriage to the mother of her childhood crush.
Eva V. Gibson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Lane's emotional walls, built after witnessing her mom's suicide thirteen years earlier, are tested by her father's marriage to the mother of her childhood crush.
True or False: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News
Cindy L. Otis
Illustrator: Archival photography
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
This engaging history of and primer on spotting false information in the news and on social media could not be more timely or essential. Archival photos. Extensive sourcing.
Cindy L. Otis
Illustrator: Archival photography
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
This engaging history of and primer on spotting false information in the news and on social media could not be more timely or essential. Archival photos. Extensive sourcing.
Truth App, The (Liars series)
Jack Heath
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Australian teen, Jarli, invents an app that detects conversational truths and falsehoods. It goes viral, but some are willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden.
Jack Heath
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Australian teen, Jarli, invents an app that detects conversational truths and falsehoods. It goes viral, but some are willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden.
Turtle Under Ice
Juleah del Rosario
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
A novel in verse that explores the evolving grief of two teenage sisters after the deaths of, first, their mother, then a miscarried half-sister.
Juleah del Rosario
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
A novel in verse that explores the evolving grief of two teenage sisters after the deaths of, first, their mother, then a miscarried half-sister.
Under Shifting Stars
Alexandra Latos
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Fraternal twins Clare and Audrey are devastated after their older brother's death. Clare discovers she may be nonbinary; Audrey must come to terms with her neurodivergence.
Alexandra Latos
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Fraternal twins Clare and Audrey are devastated after their older brother's death. Clare discovers she may be nonbinary; Audrey must come to terms with her neurodivergence.
Voting Booth, The
Brandy Colbert
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Two politically active Black teens meet on Election Day, battling polling mishaps, break-ups, and a missing pet cat, while forging a new relationship.
Brandy Colbert
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
Two politically active Black teens meet on Election Day, battling polling mishaps, break-ups, and a missing pet cat, while forging a new relationship.
Walk Toward the Rising Sun: From Child Soldier to Peace Activist
Ger Duany with Garen Thomas
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
War-torn Sudan turns Duany's carefree childhood into a daily fight for survival. Escaping to America at 18, Duany struggles to build a new life.
Ger Duany with Garen Thomas
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
War-torn Sudan turns Duany's carefree childhood into a daily fight for survival. Escaping to America at 18, Duany struggles to build a new life.
Watch Over Me
Nina Lacour
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
After aging out of foster care, Mila gets an internship on a remote farm on the California coast; then, mysterious gifts connected to her past start to appear.
Nina Lacour
Ages: 14+
Published: 2020
After aging out of foster care, Mila gets an internship on a remote farm on the California coast; then, mysterious gifts connected to her past start to appear.