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
Most Dangerous
by Steve Sheinkin
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
The history of the Vietnam War is interwoven with Daniel Ellsberg's personal odyssey which culminates in his leaking the Pentagon Papers, a secret history of the war. Photos. Bibliography.
by Steve Sheinkin
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
The history of the Vietnam War is interwoven with Daniel Ellsberg's personal odyssey which culminates in his leaking the Pentagon Papers, a secret history of the war. Photos. Bibliography.
My Heart and Other Black Holes
by Jasmine Warga
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Two teenagers make a suicide pact but then love causes them to question their decision.
by Jasmine Warga
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Two teenagers make a suicide pact but then love causes them to question their decision.
No Parking At the End Times
by Bryan Bliss
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Can Abigail keep her family from falling apart when her parents sell everything in anticipation of the world ending and wind up both homeless and destitute?
by Bryan Bliss
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Can Abigail keep her family from falling apart when her parents sell everything in anticipation of the world ending and wind up both homeless and destitute?
One
by Sarah Crossan
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Sixteen-year-old conjoined twins venture into the world, deal with family issues, and confront declining health.
by Sarah Crossan
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Sixteen-year-old conjoined twins venture into the world, deal with family issues, and confront declining health.
Out of Darkness
by Ashley Hope Pérez
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Multiple narrators relate the tragic story, told against the background of a school explosion, of a romance between a Mexican American girl and an African American boy in Texas in 1937.
by Ashley Hope Pérez
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Multiple narrators relate the tragic story, told against the background of a school explosion, of a romance between a Mexican American girl and an African American boy in Texas in 1937.
Paper Hearts
by Meg Wiviott
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
While an inmate in Auschwitz, Zlatka risks death by stealing and bartering for materials to make her friend a birthday card.
by Meg Wiviott
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
While an inmate in Auschwitz, Zlatka risks death by stealing and bartering for materials to make her friend a birthday card.
Please Excuse This Poem
edited by Brett Fletcher Lauer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Acclaimed poets from diverse backgrounds and points of view tackle a wide range of subjects in a variety of poetic forms. Short biographies and interviews.
edited by Brett Fletcher Lauer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Acclaimed poets from diverse backgrounds and points of view tackle a wide range of subjects in a variety of poetic forms. Short biographies and interviews.
Punch Like a Girl
by Karen Krossing
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
After Tori is sexually assaulted, she turns inward and is outwardly moody and violent, unable to tell anyone what happened.
by Karen Krossing
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
After Tori is sexually assaulted, she turns inward and is outwardly moody and violent, unable to tell anyone what happened.
Razorhurst
by Justine Larbalestier
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
In 1932, in the gangster-run neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, two very different girls, both of whom can see ghosts, find their survival depends on each other's strengths.
by Justine Larbalestier
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
In 1932, in the gangster-run neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, two very different girls, both of whom can see ghosts, find their survival depends on each other's strengths.
Red Queen
by Victoria Aveyard
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
In a world where only the silver-blooded rule and have supernatural abilities, red-blooded Mare Barrow, seventeen, discovers she too possesses an extraordinary power.
by Victoria Aveyard
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
In a world where only the silver-blooded rule and have supernatural abilities, red-blooded Mare Barrow, seventeen, discovers she too possesses an extraordinary power.
See No Color
by Shannon Gibney
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
When Alex realizes that identifying herself as a baseball player isn't enough, she questions whether she fits in with the white family who adopted her and seeks out her black father.
by Shannon Gibney
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
When Alex realizes that identifying herself as a baseball player isn't enough, she questions whether she fits in with the white family who adopted her and seeks out her black father.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
by Becky Albertalli
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
After accidentally seeing sixteen-year-old Simon's online flirtation with another boy, a classmate blackmails him. Will Simon be outed just when he's falling in love?
by Becky Albertalli
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
After accidentally seeing sixteen-year-old Simon's online flirtation with another boy, a classmate blackmails him. Will Simon be outed just when he's falling in love?
SuperMutant Magic Academy
written and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Marsha and her diverse group of friends may have paranormal abilities, but they are just trying to navigate high school like everyone else. Black and white illustrations.
written and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Marsha and her diverse group of friends may have paranormal abilities, but they are just trying to navigate high school like everyone else. Black and white illustrations.
Surviving Santiago
by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Chilean-American teenager Tina returns to Santiago for the summer of 1989 to reconnect with her alcoholic activist father during the final months of Pinochet's regime.
by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Chilean-American teenager Tina returns to Santiago for the summer of 1989 to reconnect with her alcoholic activist father during the final months of Pinochet's regime.
Symphony for the City of the Dead
by M. T. Anderson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
The horrors of Stalin's purges and Germany's starvation siege of Leningrad inspire a composer to honor his fellow Russians. Graphic, disturbing descriptions. Photographs and backmatter.
by M. T. Anderson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
The horrors of Stalin's purges and Germany's starvation siege of Leningrad inspire a composer to honor his fellow Russians. Graphic, disturbing descriptions. Photographs and backmatter.
Taking Aim
edited by Michael Cart
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Essays and short stories by 16 well-known authors who explore the impact of guns on teens from a variety of perspectives, circumstances, and settings.
edited by Michael Cart
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Essays and short stories by 16 well-known authors who explore the impact of guns on teens from a variety of perspectives, circumstances, and settings.
The Accident Season
by Moira Fowley-Doyle
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Each October, Cara's family is beset by injuries and tragedy. Could the strange disappearance of Cara's childhood friend hold the key?
by Moira Fowley-Doyle
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Each October, Cara's family is beset by injuries and tragedy. Could the strange disappearance of Cara's childhood friend hold the key?
The Boy in the Black Suit
by Jason Reynolds
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
After his mother dies, Matt, seventeen, takes a job in a funeral home, where he eventually comes to terms with his loss.
by Jason Reynolds
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
After his mother dies, Matt, seventeen, takes a job in a funeral home, where he eventually comes to terms with his loss.
The Bunker Diary
by Kevin Brooks
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Who is the mysterious abductor, who imprisons his victims in an underground bunker? Linus describes the frightening events in his journal, as five more victims are added to his cell.
by Kevin Brooks
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Who is the mysterious abductor, who imprisons his victims in an underground bunker? Linus describes the frightening events in his journal, as five more victims are added to his cell.
The Dead I Know
by Scot Gardner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Aaron sleepwalks and has dreams he cannot explain. The one thing going right is his new job at a funeral home.
by Scot Gardner
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Aaron sleepwalks and has dreams he cannot explain. The one thing going right is his new job at a funeral home.
The Emperor of Any Place
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Evan struggles with his father's death and conflicting views of his grandfather. Can he believe in a mysterious tale full of zombies and ghosts?
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Evan struggles with his father's death and conflicting views of his grandfather. Can he believe in a mysterious tale full of zombies and ghosts?
The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley
by Shaun David Hutchinson
Illustrator: Christine Larsen
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Andrew lives in the hospital, hiding from his past, until a boy set on fire by bigots is brought in. Can they save each other? Occasional black-and-white illustrations.
by Shaun David Hutchinson
Illustrator: Christine Larsen
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
Andrew lives in the hospital, hiding from his past, until a boy set on fire by bigots is brought in. Can they save each other? Occasional black-and-white illustrations.
The Girl at Midnight
by Melissa Grey
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
A teenaged thief living with the Avicen, magical bird-like humans, seeks the legendary Firebird to end the ancient war with the dragon-like Drakharins.
by Melissa Grey
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
A teenaged thief living with the Avicen, magical bird-like humans, seeks the legendary Firebird to end the ancient war with the dragon-like Drakharins.
The Girl with the Wrong Name
by Barnabas Miller
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
17-year-old Theo meets a young man with a murky past. She discovers the truth about him and herself as this unreliable narrator searches for answers in NYC.
by Barnabas Miller
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
17-year-old Theo meets a young man with a murky past. She discovers the truth about him and herself as this unreliable narrator searches for answers in NYC.
The Last Time We Say Goodbye
by Cynthia Hand
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
The suicide of her beloved younger brother leaves a college-bound, gifted Nebraskan wrestling with regrets and difficult family issues. An insightful story of growth and recovery.
by Cynthia Hand
Ages: 14+
Published: 2015
The suicide of her beloved younger brother leaves a college-bound, gifted Nebraskan wrestling with regrets and difficult family issues. An insightful story of growth and recovery.