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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Life Electric, A: The Story of Nikola Tesla
Azadeh Westergaard
Illustrator: Júlia Sardà
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A creative boy, fascinated with electricity, grew up to invent the groundbreaking alternating current (AC) motor, but his prominence was short lived. Illustrations evoke late-1800s Europe and America.
Azadeh Westergaard
Illustrator: Júlia Sardà
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A creative boy, fascinated with electricity, grew up to invent the groundbreaking alternating current (AC) motor, but his prominence was short lived. Illustrations evoke late-1800s Europe and America.
Light for All
Margarita Engle
Illustrator: Raúl Colón
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Simple poetic text illustrates the experiences of immigrants, without shying away from America's complicated history. Textured illustrations with saturated hues illuminate diversity.
Margarita Engle
Illustrator: Raúl Colón
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Simple poetic text illustrates the experiences of immigrants, without shying away from America's complicated history. Textured illustrations with saturated hues illuminate diversity.
Little Library, The (Mr. Tiffin's Classroom series)
Margaret McNamara
Illustrator: G. Brian Karas
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Jake, a reluctant reader, gets hooked on a book about woodworking selected with his librarian and uses it to create a special project. Animated mixed-media illustrations.
Margaret McNamara
Illustrator: G. Brian Karas
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Jake, a reluctant reader, gets hooked on a book about woodworking selected with his librarian and uses it to create a special project. Animated mixed-media illustrations.
Little Witch Hazel: A Year in the Forest
Phoebe Wahl
Illustrator: Pheobe Wahl
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
With themes of adventure, friendship, nature, and community, a tiny witch learns life's lessons in each of the four seasons. Colorful vintage-style woodland imagery.
Phoebe Wahl
Illustrator: Pheobe Wahl
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
With themes of adventure, friendship, nature, and community, a tiny witch learns life's lessons in each of the four seasons. Colorful vintage-style woodland imagery.
Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess, The
Tom Gauld
Illustrator: Tom Gauld
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
After an accident separates them, devoted siblings overcome challenges to find each other. This brand new, traditional-style folktale includes a helpful goblin and a witch. Digital art.
Tom Gauld
Illustrator: Tom Gauld
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
After an accident separates them, devoted siblings overcome challenges to find each other. This brand new, traditional-style folktale includes a helpful goblin and a witch. Digital art.
Longest Storm, The
Dan Yaccarino
Illustrator: Dan Yaccarino
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A megastorm forces a single-parent family into an extended lockdown, fraying nerves and testing all members' ability to restore cohesiveness. Bold, dynamic illustrations.
Dan Yaccarino
Illustrator: Dan Yaccarino
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A megastorm forces a single-parent family into an extended lockdown, fraying nerves and testing all members' ability to restore cohesiveness. Bold, dynamic illustrations.
Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi Calls the House to Order
Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Chris Hsu
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Nancy Pelosi's life and career are covered in this digitally illustrated book. Timeline and bibliography enhance the value.
Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Chris Hsu
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Nancy Pelosi's life and career are covered in this digitally illustrated book. Timeline and bibliography enhance the value.
Make Meatballs Sing: The Life & Art of Corita Kent
Matthew Burgess
Illustrator: Kara Kramer
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Starting as Sister Mary Corita and then leaving her order, the artist used her talents as a silkscreen maker to speak out for social causes. Brightly-colored naive illustrations. Back matter.
Matthew Burgess
Illustrator: Kara Kramer
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Starting as Sister Mary Corita and then leaving her order, the artist used her talents as a silkscreen maker to speak out for social causes. Brightly-colored naive illustrations. Back matter.
¡Mambo Mucho Mambo! The Dance That Crossed Color Lines
Dean Robbins
Illustrator: Eric Velasquez
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
When Latin Jazz comes to New York's Palladium Ballroom in the 1940s, dancers start partnering with people of different races, ethnicities, and religions. Realistic artwork, notes.
Dean Robbins
Illustrator: Eric Velasquez
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
When Latin Jazz comes to New York's Palladium Ballroom in the 1940s, dancers start partnering with people of different races, ethnicities, and religions. Realistic artwork, notes.
Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey (Maybe Marisol)
Erin Entrada Kelly
Illustrator: Erin Entrada Kelly
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A girl with an irresistible personality and a huge imagination spends one hot Louisana summer playing with her best friend and tackling her anxieties. Expressive line drawings.
Erin Entrada Kelly
Illustrator: Erin Entrada Kelly
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A girl with an irresistible personality and a huge imagination spends one hot Louisana summer playing with her best friend and tackling her anxieties. Expressive line drawings.
Midnight Fair, The
Gideon Sterer
Illustrator: Mariachiara Di Giorgio
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
After seeing people enjoying a fair, a group of forest animals break in at night to have their own fun. Soft watercolor, gouache, color pencil illustrations.
Gideon Sterer
Illustrator: Mariachiara Di Giorgio
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
After seeing people enjoying a fair, a group of forest animals break in at night to have their own fun. Soft watercolor, gouache, color pencil illustrations.
Midsummer Night's Dream, A
William Shakespeare retold by Georghia Ellinas
Illustrator: Jane Ray
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Shakespeare's classic comedy of love, mistaken identity, and enchantment is retold in picture book format. Vibrant watercolor illustrations.
William Shakespeare retold by Georghia Ellinas
Illustrator: Jane Ray
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Shakespeare's classic comedy of love, mistaken identity, and enchantment is retold in picture book format. Vibrant watercolor illustrations.
Milo Imagines the World
Matt de la Peña
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
While riding the subway to visit his incarcerated mother, Milo observes other passengers and speculates about their lives. Colorful collages and Milo's own crayoned art.
Matt de la Peña
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
While riding the subway to visit his incarcerated mother, Milo observes other passengers and speculates about their lives. Colorful collages and Milo's own crayoned art.
Monarch Butterflies: Explore the Life Journey of One of the Winged Wonders of the World
Ann Hobbie
Illustrator: Olga Baumert
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
The journey of the monarch with fun facts and ways to help preserve them. Scientific illustrations. Back matter.
Ann Hobbie
Illustrator: Olga Baumert
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
The journey of the monarch with fun facts and ways to help preserve them. Scientific illustrations. Back matter.
Moon Pops
Heena Baek
Illustrator: Heena Baek
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
In a Korean fairy tale, Granny shares the drops of the moon with neighbors and helps homeless bunnies in the sweltering heat. Dark illustrations infused with light.
Heena Baek
Illustrator: Heena Baek
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
In a Korean fairy tale, Granny shares the drops of the moon with neighbors and helps homeless bunnies in the sweltering heat. Dark illustrations infused with light.
Mornings with Monet
Barb Rosenstock
Illustrator: Mary GrandPré
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Painterly illustrations and engaging text reveal the famous artist's strict adherence to methodical daily practice that resulted in his magical work. Author's Note with additional information.
Barb Rosenstock
Illustrator: Mary GrandPré
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Painterly illustrations and engaging text reveal the famous artist's strict adherence to methodical daily practice that resulted in his magical work. Author's Note with additional information.
My First Day
Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huynh Kim Liên
Illustrator: Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huynh Kim Liên
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A Vietnamese boy sets forth in a small wooden boat through the Mekong Delta on his way to school. Lush digital art; map and author's note.
Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huynh Kim Liên
Illustrator: Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huynh Kim Liên
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A Vietnamese boy sets forth in a small wooden boat through the Mekong Delta on his way to school. Lush digital art; map and author's note.
Mysterious Sea Bunny, The
Peter Raymundo
Illustrator: Peter Raymundo
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A slyly funny book comparing the features of a sea slug to a soft white bunny. Painterly, cartoony illustrations.
Peter Raymundo
Illustrator: Peter Raymundo
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A slyly funny book comparing the features of a sea slug to a soft white bunny. Painterly, cartoony illustrations.
My Two Border Towns
David Bowles
Illustrator: Erika Meza
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Rhyming couplets and striking painterly illustrations tell a tale of family love, loss and continuity.
David Bowles
Illustrator: Erika Meza
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Rhyming couplets and striking painterly illustrations tell a tale of family love, loss and continuity.
Niki Nakayama: A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites
Jamie Michalak & Debbi Michiko Florence
Illustrator: Yuko Jones
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Japanese-American food lover Niki, despite facing unrelenting anti-female discrimination, defies expectations to become a world-renowned master chef. Appetizing illustrations add important details. Timeline, recipe, notes.
Jamie Michalak & Debbi Michiko Florence
Illustrator: Yuko Jones
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Japanese-American food lover Niki, despite facing unrelenting anti-female discrimination, defies expectations to become a world-renowned master chef. Appetizing illustrations add important details. Timeline, recipe, notes.
Nina: A Story of Nina Simone
Traci N. Todd
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A gifted, classically trained musician uses her experiences and extraordinary voice to formidably interpret the Black struggle in America. Vibrant acrylic paint and collage illustrations.
Traci N. Todd
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A gifted, classically trained musician uses her experiences and extraordinary voice to formidably interpret the Black struggle in America. Vibrant acrylic paint and collage illustrations.
On the Other Side of the Forest
Nadine Robert
Illustrator: Gérard DuBois
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Laboriously built by a father rabbit and his son to see the world beyond, what happens when their stone tower is destroyed? Rural settings, punctuated with color.
Nadine Robert
Illustrator: Gérard DuBois
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Laboriously built by a father rabbit and his son to see the world beyond, what happens when their stone tower is destroyed? Rural settings, punctuated with color.
On the Trapline
David A. Robertson
Illustrator: Julie Flett
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A Cree man takes his grandson to visit his childhood home, showing him how the community once lived on the land with one another. Spare language and illustrations, glossary.
David A. Robertson
Illustrator: Julie Flett
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
A Cree man takes his grandson to visit his childhood home, showing him how the community once lived on the land with one another. Spare language and illustrations, glossary.
Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book
Keila V. Dawson
Illustrator: Alleanna Harris
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Poignant realistic illustrations of an ingenious resource, the brainchild of one resourceful man, developed to guide and protect Black travellers. Author's note provides context for today.
Keila V. Dawson
Illustrator: Alleanna Harris
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Poignant realistic illustrations of an ingenious resource, the brainchild of one resourceful man, developed to guide and protect Black travellers. Author's note provides context for today.
Opposites Abstract
Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Pairs of abstract, colored ink and acrylic paintings require viewers to think about concepts such as light and dark, intentional and accidental, inclusion and exclusion.
Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems
Ages: 6+
Published: 2021
Pairs of abstract, colored ink and acrylic paintings require viewers to think about concepts such as light and dark, intentional and accidental, inclusion and exclusion.