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/.
How to Perform a Search and Save a List
Search
Advanced Search
Stepsister
by Jennifer Donnelly
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
A feminist reimagining redeems Cinderella's two half-siblings.
by Jennifer Donnelly
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
A feminist reimagining redeems Cinderella's two half-siblings.
Strangers Assume My Girlfriend is My Nurse
by Shane Burcaw
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
With humor and insight, the author describes how others react to his outward appearances as he navigates his muscle-wasting disease, but also depicts acts of love, friendship, and activism. Photographs.
by Shane Burcaw
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
With humor and insight, the author describes how others react to his outward appearances as he navigates his muscle-wasting disease, but also depicts acts of love, friendship, and activism. Photographs.
Suggested Reading
by Dave Connis
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Senior year at Clara's private high school begins with a ban on “prohibited media.” Clara responds by starting an underground library that is life-changing for many students.
by Dave Connis
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Senior year at Clara's private high school begins with a ban on “prohibited media.” Clara responds by starting an underground library that is life-changing for many students.
The American Dream
written and illustrated by Shing Yin Khor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
A young Asian American woman drives the entire Route 66 looking for an America that always seems to shift and change. Full color graphics.
written and illustrated by Shing Yin Khor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
A young Asian American woman drives the entire Route 66 looking for an America that always seems to shift and change. Full color graphics.
The Apartment
by Alexandra Litvina
Illustrator: Anna Desnitskaya
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Decades of Russian history (1902-2002) are recounted through the lives of a Russian family and its descendants, neighbors, and friends. Detailed mixed-media illustrations. Extensive back matter.
by Alexandra Litvina
Illustrator: Anna Desnitskaya
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Decades of Russian history (1902-2002) are recounted through the lives of a Russian family and its descendants, neighbors, and friends. Detailed mixed-media illustrations. Extensive back matter.
The Athena Protocol
by Shamin Sarif
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Jessie belongs to an all-female vigilante organization that fights global injustice. After disobeying orders, she is kicked off the team but risks everything by going undercover.
by Shamin Sarif
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Jessie belongs to an all-female vigilante organization that fights global injustice. After disobeying orders, she is kicked off the team but risks everything by going undercover.
The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me
by Olivia Hinebaugh
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Lacey, who's never been kissed, becomes her high-school's go-to person for straightforward advice on healthy sex. Lively friendships hold steady through a tumultuous senior year.
by Olivia Hinebaugh
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Lacey, who's never been kissed, becomes her high-school's go-to person for straightforward advice on healthy sex. Lively friendships hold steady through a tumultuous senior year.
The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World
by Amy Reed
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Glass-half-full Billy battles family demons. Pessimist Lydia struggles with a hopeless future. Are they causing their seaside town's fictionalized history of dragons, unicorns, and the apocalypse to come to life?
by Amy Reed
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Glass-half-full Billy battles family demons. Pessimist Lydia struggles with a hopeless future. Are they causing their seaside town's fictionalized history of dragons, unicorns, and the apocalypse to come to life?
The Far Away Brothers
by Lauren Markham
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Identical twin boys escape El Salvador's violence to build new lives in California where they fight to stay, survive, and belong.
by Lauren Markham
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Identical twin boys escape El Salvador's violence to build new lives in California where they fight to stay, survive, and belong.
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
by Ben Philippe
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
When Norris, 16, a Black French-Canadian, and his Haitian-born mother move from Montreal to Texas, he has to reconsider his identity as a French-speaking ice hockey player.
by Ben Philippe
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
When Norris, 16, a Black French-Canadian, and his Haitian-born mother move from Montreal to Texas, he has to reconsider his identity as a French-speaking ice hockey player.
The Fountains of Silence
by Ruta Sepetys
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
When Daniel, a talented photographer, visits Spain with his family in 1957, he is able to document Franco's repressive regime. Extensive back matter.
by Ruta Sepetys
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
When Daniel, a talented photographer, visits Spain with his family in 1957, he is able to document Franco's repressive regime. Extensive back matter.
The Good Son
by Pierre-Jacques Ober
Illustrator: Jules Ober
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Pierre leaves his World War I regiment to spend Christmas with his widowed mother. Afterward, he is accused of desertion. Photographed tableaus using customized miniature figures.
by Pierre-Jacques Ober
Illustrator: Jules Ober
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Pierre leaves his World War I regiment to spend Christmas with his widowed mother. Afterward, he is accused of desertion. Photographed tableaus using customized miniature figures.
The Great Unknowable End
by Kathryn Ormsbee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Strange, threatening weather conditions -- pink lightning, red rain -- in 1977 Slater, Kansas, forever changed the lives of two teens.
by Kathryn Ormsbee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Strange, threatening weather conditions -- pink lightning, red rain -- in 1977 Slater, Kansas, forever changed the lives of two teens.
The Kingdom
by Jess Rothenberg
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Ana, a half-human, half-android enslaved in a glittering fantasy theme park is accused of murder.
by Jess Rothenberg
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Ana, a half-human, half-android enslaved in a glittering fantasy theme park is accused of murder.
The Lady Rogue
by Jenn Bennett
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
In 1937, Theodora, 17, and the boy she loves follow the trail left by her father as he searches for a lost ring belonging to Vlad the Impaler.
by Jenn Bennett
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
In 1937, Theodora, 17, and the boy she loves follow the trail left by her father as he searches for a lost ring belonging to Vlad the Impaler.
The Last True Poets of the Sea
by Julia Drake
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Violet is set on her own path of destruction, until her beloved brother attempts suicide. Love may be the only path to healing.
by Julia Drake
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Violet is set on her own path of destruction, until her beloved brother attempts suicide. Love may be the only path to healing.
The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe
by Ally Condie
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
In a dystopian society, seventeen-year-old Poe, suffering from the death of her true love, finds meaning protecting her ship and possible comrades.
by Ally Condie
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
In a dystopian society, seventeen-year-old Poe, suffering from the death of her true love, finds meaning protecting her ship and possible comrades.
The Lovely and the Lost
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
When Kira and her family join the search for a lost girl in a national park, the rescue attempt triggers Kira's memories of her own survival as a child.
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
When Kira and her family join the search for a lost girl in a national park, the rescue attempt triggers Kira's memories of her own survival as a child.
The Pioneer
by Bridget Tyler
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Toxic adventures interfere with survival in the search for a new planet after earth is deemed uninhabitable.
by Bridget Tyler
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Toxic adventures interfere with survival in the search for a new planet after earth is deemed uninhabitable.
The Revolution of Birdie Randolph
by Brandy Colbert
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Sixteen-year-old Birdie's close bond with her parents is threatened by a family secret and by hiding her relationship with a boy friend who has been in juvenile detention.
by Brandy Colbert
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Sixteen-year-old Birdie's close bond with her parents is threatened by a family secret and by hiding her relationship with a boy friend who has been in juvenile detention.
The Speed of Falling Objects
by Nancy Richardson Fischer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Danny's estranged father, the charismatic star of a nature show, invites her to join him for an episode in the Amazon.
by Nancy Richardson Fischer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Danny's estranged father, the charismatic star of a nature show, invites her to join him for an episode in the Amazon.
The Starlight Claim
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Nate travels to his family's remote camp to deal with the unintended death of his best friend. Instead he finds escaped convicts living in his cabin.
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Nate travels to his family's remote camp to deal with the unintended death of his best friend. Instead he finds escaped convicts living in his cabin.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
by Alix E. Harrow
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
While her father travels the world, January lives in genteel servitude as his employer's ward. But a found book leads her on a quest for her origin story.
by Alix E. Harrow
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
While her father travels the world, January lives in genteel servitude as his employer's ward. But a found book leads her on a quest for her origin story.
The Things She's Seen
by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Helping her policeman father work through his grief over her death, 15-year-old Beth's ghost assists him in solving a mysterious fire and murder.
by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Helping her policeman father work through his grief over her death, 15-year-old Beth's ghost assists him in solving a mysterious fire and murder.
The Weight of a Thousand Feathers
by Brian Conaghan
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Seventeen-year-old Bobby reluctantly joins a group for teens who care for seriously ill parents, but starts to make some connections. Then his mother begs him to end her life.
by Brian Conaghan
Ages: 14+
Published: 2019
Seventeen-year-old Bobby reluctantly joins a group for teens who care for seriously ill parents, but starts to make some connections. Then his mother begs him to end her life.