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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iBoy
by Kevin Brooks
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
After a head-on collision with a cellphone Tom becomes an actualized App and connects to all technology worldwide, allowing him to defeat London's underworld villains. Gritty and absorbing.
by Kevin Brooks
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
After a head-on collision with a cellphone Tom becomes an actualized App and connects to all technology worldwide, allowing him to defeat London's underworld villains. Gritty and absorbing.
Legend
by Marie Lu
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In this thrilling futuristic adventure June and Daniel belong to different worlds. One is a promising prodigy, the other a notorious criminal, yet unexpected events bring them together.
by Marie Lu
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In this thrilling futuristic adventure June and Daniel belong to different worlds. One is a promising prodigy, the other a notorious criminal, yet unexpected events bring them together.
My Life Undecided
by Jessica Brody
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Fifteen-year-old Brooklyn devises a blog that will ask her readers to vote for “good” decisions because she can't make them.
by Jessica Brody
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Fifteen-year-old Brooklyn devises a blog that will ask her readers to vote for “good” decisions because she can't make them.
Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II
written by Ron Koertge
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Colleen is bright, funny, and the first person who really saw past Ben's cerebral palsy. But will her drug addiction ultimately destroy their relationship?
written by Ron Koertge
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Colleen is bright, funny, and the first person who really saw past Ben's cerebral palsy. But will her drug addiction ultimately destroy their relationship?
Orchestrated Murder
by Rick Blechta
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In this mystery, an older detective and his new young sidekick work together to solve a murder--with an orchestra full of suspects.
by Rick Blechta
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In this mystery, an older detective and his new young sidekick work together to solve a murder--with an orchestra full of suspects.
Out of Shadows
by Jason Wallace
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In Zimbabwe after the civil war, deeply felt antagonisms between whites and blacks play out--violently--in a predominantly white boarding school.
by Jason Wallace
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In Zimbabwe after the civil war, deeply felt antagonisms between whites and blacks play out--violently--in a predominantly white boarding school.
Pearl
by Jo Knowles
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When her grandfather dies suddenly, Pearl (aka Beany) doesn't think it possible to feel sadder. The story of love, loss, and discovery in two unhappy families.
by Jo Knowles
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When her grandfather dies suddenly, Pearl (aka Beany) doesn't think it possible to feel sadder. The story of love, loss, and discovery in two unhappy families.
Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy
by Bill Wright
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Sixteen-year-old Carlos wants only to be a makeup artist to the stars, but first he must deal with a crazy boss, his sister's abusive boyfriend, and his own crush on a classmate.
by Bill Wright
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Sixteen-year-old Carlos wants only to be a makeup artist to the stars, but first he must deal with a crazy boss, his sister's abusive boyfriend, and his own crush on a classmate.
Recovery Road
by Blake Nelson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
The bright spot in rehab for seventeen-year-old Maddie is Stewart, with whom she is in love. She adapts to her high school and begins to mature.
by Blake Nelson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
The bright spot in rehab for seventeen-year-old Maddie is Stewart, with whom she is in love. She adapts to her high school and begins to mature.
Something Like Hope
written by Shawn Goodman
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Abused and neglected, seventeen-year-old Shavonne has lost her ability to feel as she contemplates her long incarceration in a juvenile detention center.
written by Shawn Goodman
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Abused and neglected, seventeen-year-old Shavonne has lost her ability to feel as she contemplates her long incarceration in a juvenile detention center.
So Shelly
by Ty Roth
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
High school complications, friendships, and ultimately tragedy beset these teenagers whose names and lives mirror early nineteenth century literary figures, Shelley, Byron, and Keats.
by Ty Roth
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
High school complications, friendships, and ultimately tragedy beset these teenagers whose names and lives mirror early nineteenth century literary figures, Shelley, Byron, and Keats.
Ten Miles Past Normal
by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Jamie overcomes a difficult transition to high school by discovering new friends and new interests -- music, and the civil rights history of her North Carolina town.
by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Jamie overcomes a difficult transition to high school by discovering new friends and new interests -- music, and the civil rights history of her North Carolina town.
The Big Crunch
by Pete Hautman
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In this contemporary and sometimes humorous story told from two points of view, soon after June and Wes become romantically involved, she must move away because of her father's job.
by Pete Hautman
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In this contemporary and sometimes humorous story told from two points of view, soon after June and Wes become romantically involved, she must move away because of her father's job.
The Chamber of Five
by Michael Harmon
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Eligible for his school's elite secret society because of his father's wealth and prestige, Jason balks at his initiation obligation.
by Michael Harmon
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Eligible for his school's elite secret society because of his father's wealth and prestige, Jason balks at his initiation obligation.
The Game of Triumphs
by Laura Powell
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When fifteen-year-old Cat enters the Game of Triumphs, she learns secrets about her past and possible future.
by Laura Powell
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When fifteen-year-old Cat enters the Game of Triumphs, she learns secrets about her past and possible future.
The Lucky Kind
by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When Nick learns that his father gave up a baby for adoption long before he was born, it sours his relationship with his girlfriend.
by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When Nick learns that his father gave up a baby for adoption long before he was born, it sours his relationship with his girlfriend.
The Piper's Son
by Melina Marchetta
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In contemporary Australia, the Mackees are a fractured family and Tom is the most wounded of all.
by Melina Marchetta
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In contemporary Australia, the Mackees are a fractured family and Tom is the most wounded of all.
The Probability of Miracles
by Wendy Wunder
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Cam will never see her eighteenth birthday, but when she goes to Promise, Maine for the summer to please her mother and sister she becomes a person of hope.
by Wendy Wunder
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Cam will never see her eighteenth birthday, but when she goes to Promise, Maine for the summer to please her mother and sister she becomes a person of hope.
The Shattering
by Karen Healey
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In the idyllic town of Summerton, New Zealand, older brothers commit suicide - or are they really being murdered
by Karen Healey
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
In the idyllic town of Summerton, New Zealand, older brothers commit suicide - or are they really being murdered
This Dark Endeavor
by Kenneth Oppel
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When sixteen-year-old Konrad Frankenstein develops a rare blood disease, his twin brother embarks on a dangerous quest to find the Elixir of Life that will cure him.
by Kenneth Oppel
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When sixteen-year-old Konrad Frankenstein develops a rare blood disease, his twin brother embarks on a dangerous quest to find the Elixir of Life that will cure him.
This Thing Called the Future
by J. L. Powers
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
South African Khosi tries to reconcile her ideas about modern medicine, traditional Zulu healing, and her Catholic religion as she faces the fact that her mother is dying of AIDS.
by J. L. Powers
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
South African Khosi tries to reconcile her ideas about modern medicine, traditional Zulu healing, and her Catholic religion as she faces the fact that her mother is dying of AIDS.
Tighter
by Adele Griffin
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Drug abuse, a promising relationship, and a blurred line between reality and fantasy confuse seventeen-year-old Jamie's summer in this fast-paced thriller.
by Adele Griffin
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
Drug abuse, a promising relationship, and a blurred line between reality and fantasy confuse seventeen-year-old Jamie's summer in this fast-paced thriller.
To Timbuktu
by Casey Scieszka
Illustrator: Steven Weinberg
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
With comical sketches on every page, studying this funny, honest look at traveling and working around the globe will spark the travel bug in every reader.
by Casey Scieszka
Illustrator: Steven Weinberg
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
With comical sketches on every page, studying this funny, honest look at traveling and working around the globe will spark the travel bug in every reader.
Want To Go Private?
by Sarah Darer Littman
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When high school gets off to a rough start for fourteen-year-old Abby, having an online boyfriend helps her feel better--with tragic consequences. Sexually explicit scenes.
by Sarah Darer Littman
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When high school gets off to a rough start for fourteen-year-old Abby, having an online boyfriend helps her feel better--with tragic consequences. Sexually explicit scenes.
What Comes After
by Steve Watkins
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When sixteen-year-old Iris must leave Maine to live on a farm with relatives she barely knows, a confrontation over the goats has devastating consequences.
by Steve Watkins
Ages: 14+
Published: 2011
When sixteen-year-old Iris must leave Maine to live on a farm with relatives she barely knows, a confrontation over the goats has devastating consequences.