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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Seven Percent of Ro Devereux
Ellen O'Clover
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
A high school nerd invents an app that predicts details about a person's life with 93% accuracy. It goes viral, affecting many lives, including hers and her ex-best friend's.
Ellen O'Clover
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
A high school nerd invents an app that predicts details about a person's life with 93% accuracy. It goes viral, affecting many lives, including hers and her ex-best friend's.
Smash the Patriarchy
Marta Breen
Illustrator: Jenny Jordahl
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Patriarchy and male chauvinism through the ages are satirized, while the women who fought them are celebrated. Lively cartoon-style drawings. Resources.
Marta Breen
Illustrator: Jenny Jordahl
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Patriarchy and male chauvinism through the ages are satirized, while the women who fought them are celebrated. Lively cartoon-style drawings. Resources.
Spice Road
Maiya Ibrahim
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
From the hidden desert city of Qalia, protected for a millennium by secret spice magic, Imani, an expert swordfighter, sets out to recover her brother from a distant outer world. Detailed map.
Maiya Ibrahim
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
From the hidden desert city of Qalia, protected for a millennium by secret spice magic, Imani, an expert swordfighter, sets out to recover her brother from a distant outer world. Detailed map.
Spin
Rebecca Caprara
Illustrator: Deb JJ Lee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Raised in a family of weavers in ancient Greece, Arachne transforms from a simple peasant girl into the woman who challenges goddess Athena in a life-changing contest. Free verse. Black-and-white spot art.
Rebecca Caprara
Illustrator: Deb JJ Lee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Raised in a family of weavers in ancient Greece, Arachne transforms from a simple peasant girl into the woman who challenges goddess Athena in a life-changing contest. Free verse. Black-and-white spot art.
Starlet's Secret to a Sensational Afterlife, A
Kendall Kulper
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Someone has been killing aspiring actresses like Henrietta, and she can speak to their ghosts. Can she and her frenemy Declan bring the killer to justice?
Kendall Kulper
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Someone has been killing aspiring actresses like Henrietta, and she can speak to their ghosts. Can she and her frenemy Declan bring the killer to justice?
Stars, Hide Your Fires
Jessica Mary Best
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Cass, earning a living as a pickpocket, travels across the galaxy to crash the Ascension Ball. After the emperor is murdered, she becomes a suspect and joins the Rebellion.
Jessica Mary Best
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Cass, earning a living as a pickpocket, travels across the galaxy to crash the Ascension Ball. After the emperor is murdered, she becomes a suspect and joins the Rebellion.
Star Splitter
Matthew J. Kirby
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Six years after her scientist parents left Earth in 2193, Jessica, 17, is transported 14 light years away to reunite with them. The plan goes horribly wrong.
Matthew J. Kirby
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Six years after her scientist parents left Earth in 2193, Jessica, 17, is transported 14 light years away to reunite with them. The plan goes horribly wrong.
Stateless
Elizabeth Wein
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Stella, 17, is the only female pilot in a 1937 air race of European teens. When one of the pilots is killed in midair, could Stella be next? Bibliography, notes.
Elizabeth Wein
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Stella, 17, is the only female pilot in a 1937 air race of European teens. When one of the pilots is killed in midair, could Stella be next? Bibliography, notes.
Sunshine
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Illustrator: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
As a teenager, the author spent a week volunteering at a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Panels painted in soft grey, orange, and yellow.
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Illustrator: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
As a teenager, the author spent a week volunteering at a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Panels painted in soft grey, orange, and yellow.
Take
Jennifer Bradbury
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Cara's father, an expert mountaineer, is missing. She needs to discover where he is and get him to take his medications. A World War II-era journal might hold the key.
Jennifer Bradbury
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Cara's father, an expert mountaineer, is missing. She needs to discover where he is and get him to take his medications. A World War II-era journal might hold the key.
This Dark Descent
Kalyn Josephson
Illustrator: Virginia Allyn
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Mikira bets everything to ride in a dangerous horse race, aided by a powerful but persecuted enchanter and a mysterious noble sponsor. Black-and-white spot art and map.
Kalyn Josephson
Illustrator: Virginia Allyn
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Mikira bets everything to ride in a dangerous horse race, aided by a powerful but persecuted enchanter and a mysterious noble sponsor. Black-and-white spot art and map.
This Indian Kid: A Native American Memoir
Eddie Chuculate
Illustrator: Map by Jim McMahon
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
A Muskogee Creek writer details his rich (in everything but money), peripatetic upbringing in rural Oklahoma in the 1970s. Map, family photographs. Author's note.
Eddie Chuculate
Illustrator: Map by Jim McMahon
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
A Muskogee Creek writer details his rich (in everything but money), peripatetic upbringing in rural Oklahoma in the 1970s. Map, family photographs. Author's note.
This Time It's Real
Ann Liang
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Writer Eliza and actor Caz—two talented seniors at an International School in Beijing—secretly share their gifts to boost college acceptance chances. Friendship, then unexpected romance, follow.
Ann Liang
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Writer Eliza and actor Caz—two talented seniors at an International School in Beijing—secretly share their gifts to boost college acceptance chances. Friendship, then unexpected romance, follow.
Those Who Saw the Sun: African American Oral Histories from the Jim Crow South
Jaha Nailah Avery
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Ten engaging interviews of African American elders describing their lives in the South during the Jim Crow era. Archival photographs. Appendix of people, places, events, and terms.
Jaha Nailah Avery
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Ten engaging interviews of African American elders describing their lives in the South during the Jim Crow era. Archival photographs. Appendix of people, places, events, and terms.
Throwback
Maurene Goo
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
After her grandmother's sudden illness and an argument with her mother, Korean American Samantha is transported 30 years back in time. Can she repair her family's relationships?
Maurene Goo
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
After her grandmother's sudden illness and an argument with her mother, Korean American Samantha is transported 30 years back in time. Can she repair her family's relationships?
Time Out
Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner, with Carolyn Greenwald
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
At a pep rally in a basketball-obsessed rural Georgia town, the high school team's captain announces he is gay. Cheers turn to jeers.
Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner, with Carolyn Greenwald
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
At a pep rally in a basketball-obsessed rural Georgia town, the high school team's captain announces he is gay. Cheers turn to jeers.
Transmogrify!: 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic
g. haron davis, editor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Stories about claiming trans and nonbinary identity include science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Characters discover the magic that lives within themselves and the power to move forward. Mature content
g. haron davis, editor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Stories about claiming trans and nonbinary identity include science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Characters discover the magic that lives within themselves and the power to move forward. Mature content
True True
Don P. Hooper
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Attending a Manhattan private school, Brooklynite Gil is suspended on his first day because of a racist incident and must fight against all odds to thrive.
Don P. Hooper
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Attending a Manhattan private school, Brooklynite Gil is suspended on his first day because of a racist incident and must fight against all odds to thrive.
Under This Forgetful Sky
Lauren Yero
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Rumi lives a privileged life in Upper City. Crossing the border to find a cure for his father's illness, he meets Paz, who has allied with the terrorists to betray him. Mature content
Lauren Yero
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Rumi lives a privileged life in Upper City. Crossing the border to find a cure for his father's illness, he meets Paz, who has allied with the terrorists to betray him. Mature content
Unstoppable Bridget Bloom, The
Allison L. Bitz
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Enrolled in a boarding school's prestigious music program, a brash, self-absorbed, musically talented teen learns there is more to music and life than center stage.
Allison L. Bitz
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Enrolled in a boarding school's prestigious music program, a brash, self-absorbed, musically talented teen learns there is more to music and life than center stage.
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Angeline Boulley
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Perry's summer internship places her squarely in the midst of attempts to repatriate her ancestors' remains from collectors and entanglies her in the frightening disappearances of young, local Native women. Mature content
Angeline Boulley
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Perry's summer internship places her squarely in the midst of attempts to repatriate her ancestors' remains from collectors and entanglies her in the frightening disappearances of young, local Native women. Mature content
We Are All So Good at Smiling
Amber McBride
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Whimsy, a Black teen, has been hospitalized again for severe clinical depression. When her friend Faerry becomes lost in the Forest, she must face the truth that has been buried all along. Mature content
Amber McBride
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Whimsy, a Black teen, has been hospitalized again for severe clinical depression. When her friend Faerry becomes lost in the Forest, she must face the truth that has been buried all along. Mature content
We'll Never Tell
Wendy Heard
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Four classmates who sneak into buildings for their YouTube channel run into danger at a long-neglected house of dead movie stars. Mature Content
Wendy Heard
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Four classmates who sneak into buildings for their YouTube channel run into danger at a long-neglected house of dead movie stars. Mature Content
When a Brown Girl Flees
Aamna Qureshi
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Feeling suffocated by her mother, 18-year-old Pakistani American Zahra flees from her impending marriage in California. Through the local masjid, she finds a new community in Long Island.
Aamna Qureshi
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Feeling suffocated by her mother, 18-year-old Pakistani American Zahra flees from her impending marriage in California. Through the local masjid, she finds a new community in Long Island.
When You Wish upon a Lantern
Gloria Chao
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Friendship between Liya and Kai in Chicago's Chinatown frays when their fathers feud. Creating a lantern festival to honor Liya's late grandmother helps them reunite. Mandarin glossary.
Gloria Chao
Ages: 14+
Published: 2023
Friendship between Liya and Kai in Chicago's Chinatown frays when their fathers feud. Creating a lantern festival to honor Liya's late grandmother helps them reunite. Mandarin glossary.