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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Grandmaster
by David Klass
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When chess teammates invite a novice player to a father-son weekend tournament, Daniel discovers his father's dark secret and much more.
by David Klass
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When chess teammates invite a novice player to a father-son weekend tournament, Daniel discovers his father's dark secret and much more.
Grasshopper Jungle
by Andrew Smith
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Sexually conflicted high schooler Austin narrates this fantastic tale of 412-E, a substance that breeds “unstoppable soldiers” in Ealing, Iowa. Is the apocalypse near?
by Andrew Smith
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Sexually conflicted high schooler Austin narrates this fantastic tale of 412-E, a substance that breeds “unstoppable soldiers” in Ealing, Iowa. Is the apocalypse near?
Guilty?
by Teri Kanefield
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
This is a fascinating exploration of how civil and criminal court decisions affect laws and what our society considers a crime. Cases include disputes on segregation, legal representation, and enemy combatants.
by Teri Kanefield
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
This is a fascinating exploration of how civil and criminal court decisions affect laws and what our society considers a crime. Cases include disputes on segregation, legal representation, and enemy combatants.
How It Went Down
by Kekla Magoon
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When an African-American teen is shot and killed by a white man in broad daylight, those who witnessed or were affected by the crime tell different stories.
by Kekla Magoon
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When an African-American teen is shot and killed by a white man in broad daylight, those who witnessed or were affected by the crime tell different stories.
Hunt for the Bamboo Rat
by Graham Salisbury
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Zenji Watanabe, seventeen, is sent from Hawaii to the Philippines to spy on the Japanese, but gets captured by them when Manila is invaded in World War II.
by Graham Salisbury
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Zenji Watanabe, seventeen, is sent from Hawaii to the Philippines to spy on the Japanese, but gets captured by them when Manila is invaded in World War II.
I'll Give You the Sun
by Jandy Nelson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When tragedy drives thirteen-year-old Jude and her twin apart, they need art and some magic to find their way back to each other.
by Jandy Nelson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When tragedy drives thirteen-year-old Jude and her twin apart, they need art and some magic to find their way back to each other.
I Love I Hate I Miss My Sister
by Amélie Sarn
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Two contemporary French-Algerian teenage sisters disagree with one another as they struggle with strictures concerning the wearing of head scarves by Muslim women, with tragic results.
by Amélie Sarn
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Two contemporary French-Algerian teenage sisters disagree with one another as they struggle with strictures concerning the wearing of head scarves by Muslim women, with tragic results.
I Remember Beirut
written and illustrated by Zeina Abirached
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
The author recalls what her life was like growing up in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War. Stark black-and-white graphic illustrations.
written and illustrated by Zeina Abirached
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
The author recalls what her life was like growing up in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War. Stark black-and-white graphic illustrations.
Knockout Games
by G Neri
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When sixteen-year-old Erica moves to a new school, she experiences racial and romantic tensions, forcing her to examine her own values.
by G Neri
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When sixteen-year-old Erica moves to a new school, she experiences racial and romantic tensions, forcing her to examine her own values.
Laughing at my Nightmare
by Shane Burcaw
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
How the author copes with the threatening and debilitating form of muscular dystrophy (SMA) is painful, poignant, humorous, and finally, hopeful and uplifting.
by Shane Burcaw
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
How the author copes with the threatening and debilitating form of muscular dystrophy (SMA) is painful, poignant, humorous, and finally, hopeful and uplifting.
Like Water on Stone
by Dana Walrath
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Three siblings endure great loss and hardship, but survive the Armenian genocide. Inspired by a true story.
by Dana Walrath
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Three siblings endure great loss and hardship, but survive the Armenian genocide. Inspired by a true story.
Love and Other Foreign Words
by Erin McCahan
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Fifteen-year-old Josie is fluent in high school, friends, boyfriends, and beautiful girls. But when her sister gets engaged, Josie realizes there is one language she just cannot seem to understand: Love.
by Erin McCahan
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Fifteen-year-old Josie is fluent in high school, friends, boyfriends, and beautiful girls. But when her sister gets engaged, Josie realizes there is one language she just cannot seem to understand: Love.
Minders
by Michele Jaffe
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Sadie is thrilled to be selected for a Mind Corps Fellowship and enter into a troubled teenage boy's mind. But can she really remain simply an objective observer of his life?
by Michele Jaffe
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Sadie is thrilled to be selected for a Mind Corps Fellowship and enter into a troubled teenage boy's mind. But can she really remain simply an objective observer of his life?
Monstrous Affections
edited by Kelly Link
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Fifteen stories focusing on the interactions of monsters and humans lead readers to ask who is really the monster.
edited by Kelly Link
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Fifteen stories focusing on the interactions of monsters and humans lead readers to ask who is really the monster.
Mortal Danger
by Ann Aguirre
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When high school senior, Edie, is bullied by cruel classmates she contemplates suicide but then decides against it by making a pact with a magical boy.
by Ann Aguirre
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
When high school senior, Edie, is bullied by cruel classmates she contemplates suicide but then decides against it by making a pact with a magical boy.
Nearly Gone
by Elle Cosimano
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Nearly Boswell, model student but social nobody, discovers cryptic clues that seem to lead to who is murdering her classmates. Is she smart and brave enough to stop the killing?
by Elle Cosimano
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Nearly Boswell, model student but social nobody, discovers cryptic clues that seem to lead to who is murdering her classmates. Is she smart and brave enough to stop the killing?
One Death, Nine Stories
edited by Marc Aronson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Nine authors give voice to the friends and family--and even some people who never knew him--who struggle to come to terms with nineteen-year-old Kevin's death.
edited by Marc Aronson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Nine authors give voice to the friends and family--and even some people who never knew him--who struggle to come to terms with nineteen-year-old Kevin's death.
On the Road To Find Out
by Rachel Toor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Losing focus after her rejection from Yale, valedictorian Alice Davis reinvents herself, becoming a successful runner and developing empathy for her parents and friends.
by Rachel Toor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Losing focus after her rejection from Yale, valedictorian Alice Davis reinvents herself, becoming a successful runner and developing empathy for her parents and friends.
Panic
by Lauren Oliver
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Heather and her high school friends enter a high stakes game, each with the hope for something better.
by Lauren Oliver
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Heather and her high school friends enter a high stakes game, each with the hope for something better.
Paper Airplanes
by Dawn O'Porter
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
ARC Two fifteen-year-old girls from Guernsey have been classmates but never friends until circumstances draw them together. Can their new friendship survive mean girls, betrayal, and family dysfunction?
by Dawn O'Porter
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
ARC Two fifteen-year-old girls from Guernsey have been classmates but never friends until circumstances draw them together. Can their new friendship survive mean girls, betrayal, and family dysfunction?
People of the Plague (Horrors of History series)
by T. Neill Anderson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Although this is a novel, it gives a clear picture of the killer flu that decimated Philadelphia in 1918. Mature content depicting illness and death.
by T. Neill Anderson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Although this is a novel, it gives a clear picture of the killer flu that decimated Philadelphia in 1918. Mature content depicting illness and death.
Pieces of Me
by Amber Kizer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Teenagers tied together by organ donation help each other navigate life, death, and the gift of a second chance.
by Amber Kizer
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Teenagers tied together by organ donation help each other navigate life, death, and the gift of a second chance.
Pointe
by Brandy Colbert
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Theodora, a high school junior, loves ballet, but battles anorexia and demons when her best friend, kidnapped four years earlier, comes home.
by Brandy Colbert
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Theodora, a high school junior, loves ballet, but battles anorexia and demons when her best friend, kidnapped four years earlier, comes home.
Poisoned Apples
by Christine Heppermann
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Fifty poems with fairy-tale allusions offer heartbreak, humor, challenge and empowerment for girls and perhaps also insight for boys. Black-and-white photos.
by Christine Heppermann
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Fifty poems with fairy-tale allusions offer heartbreak, humor, challenge and empowerment for girls and perhaps also insight for boys. Black-and-white photos.
Road Rash
by Mark Huntley Parsons
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Being invited to join a band for a summer tour is good news for Zach until the reality of life on the road hits home.
by Mark Huntley Parsons
Ages: 14+
Published: 2014
Being invited to join a band for a summer tour is good news for Zach until the reality of life on the road hits home.