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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I Can Open It for You
Shinsuke Yoshitake
Illustrator: Shinsuke Yoshitake
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A child, frustrated at being unable to open a candy wrapper, dreams of being able to do it independently. Simple, colorful illustrations.
Shinsuke Yoshitake
Illustrator: Shinsuke Yoshitake
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A child, frustrated at being unable to open a candy wrapper, dreams of being able to do it independently. Simple, colorful illustrations.
In the Dark
Kate Hoefler
Illustrator: Corinna Luyken
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
When strangers arrive from the dark woods, townsfolk must overcome prejudice to recognize their new neighbors' humanity. A vertically flipped book with ink, watercolor, and pencil art.
Kate Hoefler
Illustrator: Corinna Luyken
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
When strangers arrive from the dark woods, townsfolk must overcome prejudice to recognize their new neighbors' humanity. A vertically flipped book with ink, watercolor, and pencil art.
Josephine and Her Dishwashing Machine: Josephine Cochrane's Bright Invention Makes a Splash
Kate Hannigan
Illustrator: Sarah Green
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
In 1893, despite facing gender discrimination, a woman determined to alleviate the drudgery of a household chore won recognition for her invention. Colorful sketches and diagrams. Back matter.
Kate Hannigan
Illustrator: Sarah Green
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
In 1893, despite facing gender discrimination, a woman determined to alleviate the drudgery of a household chore won recognition for her invention. Colorful sketches and diagrams. Back matter.
Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider
Jessica Lanan
Illustrator: Jessica Lanan
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A child at play outdoors is prompted to consider the sensory experiences and survival challenges of a tiny arachnid. Watercolor art illustrates the spider's perspective. Rich back matter.
Jessica Lanan
Illustrator: Jessica Lanan
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A child at play outdoors is prompted to consider the sensory experiences and survival challenges of a tiny arachnid. Watercolor art illustrates the spider's perspective. Rich back matter.
Jump In!
Shadra Strickland
Illustrator: Shadra Strickland
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
From Double Dutch to hip hop, all movement styles are welcome in effervescent jump rope play in a diverse neighborhood. Free verse with an off-beat rhythm. Sun-drenched digital art.
Shadra Strickland
Illustrator: Shadra Strickland
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
From Double Dutch to hip hop, all movement styles are welcome in effervescent jump rope play in a diverse neighborhood. Free verse with an off-beat rhythm. Sun-drenched digital art.
Just Like Grandma
Kim Rogers
Illustrator: Julie Flett
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Becca learns traditional beading, painting, and dancing with her role-model Native American grandma who shares in her granddaughter's basketball tryouts. Lyrical text paired with evocative earth-toned illustrations. Back matter.
Kim Rogers
Illustrator: Julie Flett
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Becca learns traditional beading, painting, and dancing with her role-model Native American grandma who shares in her granddaughter's basketball tryouts. Lyrical text paired with evocative earth-toned illustrations. Back matter.
Just One Pebble: One Boy's Quest to End Hunger
Dianna Wilson Sirkovsky
Illustrator: Sara Casilda
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
After he encountered an unhoused man, nine-year-old Braeden Mannering was challenged to figure out how he could help people struggling with food insecurity. Mixed-media drawings. Back matter.
Dianna Wilson Sirkovsky
Illustrator: Sara Casilda
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
After he encountered an unhoused man, nine-year-old Braeden Mannering was challenged to figure out how he could help people struggling with food insecurity. Mixed-media drawings. Back matter.
Kicks in the Sky
C. G. Esperanza
Illustrator: C. G. Esperanza
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Everyone wonders how some colorful sneakers ended up on telephone wires. Then the kicks are knocked down, and amazing things happen when kids wear them. Bouncing, rhythmic, rhyming text. Vibrant mixed-media art.
C. G. Esperanza
Illustrator: C. G. Esperanza
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Everyone wonders how some colorful sneakers ended up on telephone wires. Then the kicks are knocked down, and amazing things happen when kids wear them. Bouncing, rhythmic, rhyming text. Vibrant mixed-media art.
King Penguin, The
Vanessa Roeder
Illustrator: Vanessa Roeder
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A want-to-be ruler from Antarctica realizes through a variety of humbling experiences that a society functions best as a democracy. Acrylic and pencil artwork.
Vanessa Roeder
Illustrator: Vanessa Roeder
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A want-to-be ruler from Antarctica realizes through a variety of humbling experiences that a society functions best as a democracy. Acrylic and pencil artwork.
Kozo the Sparrow
Allen Say
Illustrator: Allen Say
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
In Japan after World War II, an eight-year-old boy saved an abandoned baby sparrow from neighborhood bullies and raised it to adulthood. Pencil, pen, and watercolor illustrations. Author's note.
Allen Say
Illustrator: Allen Say
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
In Japan after World War II, an eight-year-old boy saved an abandoned baby sparrow from neighborhood bullies and raised it to adulthood. Pencil, pen, and watercolor illustrations. Author's note.
Let's Read Animal Words
Ji Lee
Illustrator: Ji Lee
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A variety of animals are drawn using the letters that make up their names. Information about each creature accompanies the images. An innovative, visually arresting presentation.
Ji Lee
Illustrator: Ji Lee
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A variety of animals are drawn using the letters that make up their names. Information about each creature accompanies the images. An innovative, visually arresting presentation.
Like Lava in My Veins
Derrick Barnes
Illustrator: Shawn Martinbrough, colors by Adriano Lucas
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Bobby Beacon, a Black boy, enters a new superhero school, but can't always control his powers. A teacher who recognizes his strengths and issues helps him. Dynamic, action-packed graphic panels.
Derrick Barnes
Illustrator: Shawn Martinbrough, colors by Adriano Lucas
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Bobby Beacon, a Black boy, enters a new superhero school, but can't always control his powers. A teacher who recognizes his strengths and issues helps him. Dynamic, action-packed graphic panels.
Lion on the Inside: How One Girl Changed Basketball (CitizenKid series)
Megan Hoyt
Illustrator: Vivien Mildenberger
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Karikó's lifelong determination to disrupt the spread of viruses by using the power of messenger RNA led to the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine. Mixed-media digital illustrations. Extensive back matter.
Megan Hoyt
Illustrator: Vivien Mildenberger
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Karikó's lifelong determination to disrupt the spread of viruses by using the power of messenger RNA led to the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine. Mixed-media digital illustrations. Extensive back matter.
Lion on the Inside: How One Girl Changed Basketball (CitizenKid seris)
Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, with Judith Henderson
Illustrator: Katherine Ahmed
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Barred from competitions because she refused to remove her hijab, a rising basketball star became an activist for Muslim women. Digital illustrations capture a Muslim American environment. Back matter.
Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, with Judith Henderson
Illustrator: Katherine Ahmed
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Barred from competitions because she refused to remove her hijab, a rising basketball star became an activist for Muslim women. Digital illustrations capture a Muslim American environment. Back matter.
Listening to the Quiet
Cassie Silva
Illustrator: Frances Ives
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Soft colors and slightly blurred artwork echo the loss of a mother's hearing in this poignant story of a child learning new ways to continue a loving relationship.
Cassie Silva
Illustrator: Frances Ives
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Soft colors and slightly blurred artwork echo the loss of a mother's hearing in this poignant story of a child learning new ways to continue a loving relationship.
Little Books of the Little Brontës, The
Sarah O'Leary
Illustrator: Briony May Smith
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Four young siblings loved stories and wrote their own match-box size books, and then grew up to be famous British authors. Painterly illustrations. Time line, author's note, sources.
Sarah O'Leary
Illustrator: Briony May Smith
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Four young siblings loved stories and wrote their own match-box size books, and then grew up to be famous British authors. Painterly illustrations. Time line, author's note, sources.
Luna Ranchera
Rodrigo Morlesin
Illustrator: Mariana Ruiz Johnson
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Luna and Ranchera, a canine mother-daughter singing act, become famous all over the world. Colorful marker and digital illustrations filled with amusing people and animals.
Rodrigo Morlesin
Illustrator: Mariana Ruiz Johnson
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Luna and Ranchera, a canine mother-daughter singing act, become famous all over the world. Colorful marker and digital illustrations filled with amusing people and animals.
Makeda Makes a Birthday Treat (I Can Read! series)
Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Illustrator: Lydia Mba
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Although most of the class brings cupcakes to school for their birthdays, Makeda, a Black child, brings her favorite treat—coconut drops. Will the others like them? Colorful illustrations.
Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Illustrator: Lydia Mba
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Although most of the class brings cupcakes to school for their birthdays, Makeda, a Black child, brings her favorite treat—coconut drops. Will the others like them? Colorful illustrations.
Mama Mammals: Reproduction and Birth in Mammals
Cathy Evans
Illustrator: Bia Melo
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Detailed drawings and clear text depict how different mammals create a family, from fertilization to pregnancy to birth. Glossary.
Cathy Evans
Illustrator: Bia Melo
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Detailed drawings and clear text depict how different mammals create a family, from fertilization to pregnancy to birth. Glossary.
Martina Has Too Many Tías
Emma Otheguy
Illustrator: Sara Palacios
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A young Latina girl uses her imagination to escape from her lovable but boisterous family. Humorous, colorful mixed-media illustrations. Also available in Spanish.
Emma Otheguy
Illustrator: Sara Palacios
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A young Latina girl uses her imagination to escape from her lovable but boisterous family. Humorous, colorful mixed-media illustrations. Also available in Spanish.
Mary's Idea
Chris Raschka
Illustrator: Chris Raschka
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Spare text and impressionistic watercolor illustrations of her hands and keyboard poetically evoke the spirit of piano prodigy and jazz icon Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981). Back matter includes a biographical sketch and archival photo
Chris Raschka
Illustrator: Chris Raschka
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Spare text and impressionistic watercolor illustrations of her hands and keyboard poetically evoke the spirit of piano prodigy and jazz icon Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981). Back matter includes a biographical sketch and archival photo
Masala Chai, Fast and Slow
Rajani LaRocca
Illustrator: Neha Rawat
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Aarav loves the ritual of making chai with his grandfather every day. When Thatha is injured, can Aarav make the spiced drink for him just the way Thatha likes it? Digital illustrations.
Rajani LaRocca
Illustrator: Neha Rawat
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Aarav loves the ritual of making chai with his grandfather every day. When Thatha is injured, can Aarav make the spiced drink for him just the way Thatha likes it? Digital illustrations.
Masked Hero: How Wu Lien-teh Invented the Mask That Ended an Epidemic
Dr. Shan Woo Liu and Kaili Liu Gormley
Illustrator: Lisa Wee
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Discrimination under British rule did not stop the dedicated Chinese Malaysian doctor who introduced face masks to combat a 1910 plague, a protocol still recommended today. Realistic artwork. Time line.
Dr. Shan Woo Liu and Kaili Liu Gormley
Illustrator: Lisa Wee
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
Discrimination under British rule did not stop the dedicated Chinese Malaysian doctor who introduced face masks to combat a 1910 plague, a protocol still recommended today. Realistic artwork. Time line.
Maurice
Jessixa Bagley
Illustrator: Jessixa Bagley
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
In a Paris whose inhabitants are anthropomorphic dogs, accordionist Maurice rediscovers his musical spirit and passion for the world around him. Bright, energetic watercolor and digital illustrations.
Jessixa Bagley
Illustrator: Jessixa Bagley
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
In a Paris whose inhabitants are anthropomorphic dogs, accordionist Maurice rediscovers his musical spirit and passion for the world around him. Bright, energetic watercolor and digital illustrations.
Maybe a Whale
Kirsten Pendreigh
Illustrator: Crystal Smith
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A young girl takes a kayaking camping trip with her mother, finding peace while she grieves as they seek the whales her grandfather loved. Digital art.
Kirsten Pendreigh
Illustrator: Crystal Smith
Ages: 6+
Published: 2023
A young girl takes a kayaking camping trip with her mother, finding peace while she grieves as they seek the whales her grandfather loved. Digital art.