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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Godfather Death
Sally Nicholls
Illustrator: Júlia Sardà
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A fisherman strikes a sinister bargain with the Grim Reaper. An eerie atmosphere and the darkest of dark endings. Bold, rich illustrations evoke medieval woodcuts.
Sally Nicholls
Illustrator: Júlia Sardà
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A fisherman strikes a sinister bargain with the Grim Reaper. An eerie atmosphere and the darkest of dark endings. Bold, rich illustrations evoke medieval woodcuts.
Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller
Breanna J. McDaniel
Illustrator: April Harrison
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Influential Black librarian Augusta Baker brought her love of story, learned from her grandmother, to children everywhere. Mixed-media illustrations highlight Baker's enthralled listeners. Back matter.
Breanna J. McDaniel
Illustrator: April Harrison
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Influential Black librarian Augusta Baker brought her love of story, learned from her grandmother, to children everywhere. Mixed-media illustrations highlight Baker's enthralled listeners. Back matter.
Golden Gate: Building the Mighty Bridge
Elizabeth Partridge
Illustrator: Ellen Heck
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Two children of a lighthouse keeper observe daily as the then longest suspension bridge in the world is built amid treacherous conditions. Evocative illustrations capture the surf and fog and the bridge's iconic reddish-orange color.
Elizabeth Partridge
Illustrator: Ellen Heck
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Two children of a lighthouse keeper observe daily as the then longest suspension bridge in the world is built amid treacherous conditions. Evocative illustrations capture the surf and fog and the bridge's iconic reddish-orange color.
Grandma's Roof Garden
Tang Wei
Illustrator: Tang Wei
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
An independent Chinese grandmother grows vegetables and tends poultry on her urban rooftop. Poetic text with some rhyming lines and distinctive colored pencil drawings. Author's note.
Tang Wei
Illustrator: Tang Wei
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
An independent Chinese grandmother grows vegetables and tends poultry on her urban rooftop. Poetic text with some rhyming lines and distinctive colored pencil drawings. Author's note.
Gray
Laura Dockrill
Illustrator: Lauren Child
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Emotive gray and blue mixed-media illustrations and simple poetic text depict a child's experience of sadness, reassuring parental love, and acceptance of their emotions.
Laura Dockrill
Illustrator: Lauren Child
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Emotive gray and blue mixed-media illustrations and simple poetic text depict a child's experience of sadness, reassuring parental love, and acceptance of their emotions.
Great Expedition, The
Peter Carnavas
Illustrator: Peter Carnavas
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A group of youngsters face difficult challenges as they deliver a cupcake to their grandmother. Mixed-media illustrations.
Peter Carnavas
Illustrator: Peter Carnavas
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A group of youngsters face difficult challenges as they deliver a cupcake to their grandmother. Mixed-media illustrations.
Great Gusts: Winds of the World and the Science Behind Them
Melanie Crowder and Megan Benedict
Illustrator: Khoa Le
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Poems and informational text introduce 14 patterns of air in motion, including their locations and complex causes. Settings vividly illustrated. Back matter.
Melanie Crowder and Megan Benedict
Illustrator: Khoa Le
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Poems and informational text introduce 14 patterns of air in motion, including their locations and complex causes. Settings vividly illustrated. Back matter.
Great Lakes, The: Our Freshwater Treasure
Barb Rosenstock
Illustrator: Jamey Christoph
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Learn how the five largest lakes in North America were formed, the many ways we depend on them, and how we can protect them. Detailed watercolors mixed digitally.
Barb Rosenstock
Illustrator: Jamey Christoph
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Learn how the five largest lakes in North America were formed, the many ways we depend on them, and how we can protect them. Detailed watercolors mixed digitally.
Growing Up Under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution
Ying Chang Compestine
Illustrator: Xinmei Liu
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Ying recounts her harrowing childhood in the People's Republic of China during the period from 1966 to 1976. Detailed, historically and culturally relevant ink and colored artwork resonates with the text.
Ying Chang Compestine
Illustrator: Xinmei Liu
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Ying recounts her harrowing childhood in the People's Republic of China during the period from 1966 to 1976. Detailed, historically and culturally relevant ink and colored artwork resonates with the text.
Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman
JoAnna Lapati
Illustrator: JoAnna Lapati
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Posing as a man, a brave 19-year-old girl joined the Union Army. Includes excerpts from her letters home, time line, and extensive back matter. Bold scratchboard art imitates wood engravings.
JoAnna Lapati
Illustrator: JoAnna Lapati
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Posing as a man, a brave 19-year-old girl joined the Union Army. Includes excerpts from her letters home, time line, and extensive back matter. Bold scratchboard art imitates wood engravings.
Habitats: A Journey in Nature
Hannah Pang
Illustrator: Isobel Lundie
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Split pages reveal how different animals exist in six varied habitats around the world. Extensive information. Detailed, realistic illustrations.
Hannah Pang
Illustrator: Isobel Lundie
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Split pages reveal how different animals exist in six varied habitats around the world. Extensive information. Detailed, realistic illustrations.
Heartbeat Drum, The: The Story of Carol Powder, Cree Drummer and Activist
Deidre Havrelock
Illustrator: Aphelandra
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Powder overcame the bias that women should not play drums, and as an elder, she continued to share this revered skill with young people. Playful illustrations and author/illustrator notes. Back matter.
Deidre Havrelock
Illustrator: Aphelandra
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Powder overcame the bias that women should not play drums, and as an elder, she continued to share this revered skill with young people. Playful illustrations and author/illustrator notes. Back matter.
Heart Never Forgets, The
Ana Ot
Illustrator: Hayden Goodman
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
At the first masquerade festival a little girl attends after her grandfather's death, she is sad, but honors him by dancing. Evocative gouache paintings. Back matter about West African masquerades.
Ana Ot
Illustrator: Hayden Goodman
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
At the first masquerade festival a little girl attends after her grandfather's death, she is sad, but honors him by dancing. Evocative gouache paintings. Back matter about West African masquerades.
Hekla & Laki
Marine Schneider
Illustrator: Marine Schneider
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Two mysterious mythical beings, an old giant and a young boy, live together in the crater of an ancient volcano. Moody, richly painted illustrations. Back matter.
Marine Schneider
Illustrator: Marine Schneider
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Two mysterious mythical beings, an old giant and a young boy, live together in the crater of an ancient volcano. Moody, richly painted illustrations. Back matter.
Henry and the Something New (Henry series)
Jenn Bailey
Illustrator: Mika Song
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Henry overcomes his fears on a class trip to a museum and learns to enjoy the day while staying true to himself. Ink and watercolor illustrations.
Jenn Bailey
Illustrator: Mika Song
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Henry overcomes his fears on a class trip to a museum and learns to enjoy the day while staying true to himself. Ink and watercolor illustrations.
Home in a Lunchbox
Cherry Mo
Illustrator: Cherry Mo
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Jun has just moved to America from Hong Kong and knows no English. Everything goes wrong at school except having her lunch, which smells and tastes like home. Digital illustrations. Cantonese glossary.
Cherry Mo
Illustrator: Cherry Mo
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Jun has just moved to America from Hong Kong and knows no English. Everything goes wrong at school except having her lunch, which smells and tastes like home. Digital illustrations. Cantonese glossary.
How Do You Become A Mad Scientist?: A Book Full of Science Experiments
Madeline J. Hayes
Illustrator: Srimalie Bassani
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
These step-by-step projects nurture creativity and expand scientific knowledge. Clear diagrams, playful illustrations. Glossary. Back matter.
Madeline J. Hayes
Illustrator: Srimalie Bassani
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
These step-by-step projects nurture creativity and expand scientific knowledge. Clear diagrams, playful illustrations. Glossary. Back matter.
How to Eat a Mango
Paola Santos
Illustrator: Juliana Perdomo
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Carmencita is NOT fond of mangoes. They are sticky, drippy, and stringy. Fortunately, her abuela has five steps for enjoying this special fruit. Exuberant illustrations convey warmth and love.
Paola Santos
Illustrator: Juliana Perdomo
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Carmencita is NOT fond of mangoes. They are sticky, drippy, and stringy. Fortunately, her abuela has five steps for enjoying this special fruit. Exuberant illustrations convey warmth and love.
How to Love a Kitten (I Can Read It All By Myself Beginner Books series)
Michelle Meadows
Illustrator: Sawyer Cloud
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A brown-skinned child finds a cat and four kittens under a porch, cares for them, and finds their original owner. Simple poems. Warm, appealing illustrations.
Michelle Meadows
Illustrator: Sawyer Cloud
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A brown-skinned child finds a cat and four kittens under a porch, cares for them, and finds their original owner. Simple poems. Warm, appealing illustrations.
How to Sing a Song
Kwame Alexander and Randy Preston
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A song grows and flows by listening to the world all around, until it bursts out in joy. Mixed-media art.
Kwame Alexander and Randy Preston
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A song grows and flows by listening to the world all around, until it bursts out in joy. Mixed-media art.
Hoys, The
Kes Gray
Illustrator: Mark Chambers
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Can confused Pirate Jim, accompanied by his parrot, become a real pirate by finding a hoy? Colorful, detailed, comedic illustrations accompany rich language laced with piratical nuance.
Kes Gray
Illustrator: Mark Chambers
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Can confused Pirate Jim, accompanied by his parrot, become a real pirate by finding a hoy? Colorful, detailed, comedic illustrations accompany rich language laced with piratical nuance.
I Am La Chiva!: The Colorful Bus of the Andes
Karol Hernández
Illustrator: Lorena Alvarez Gómez
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A bus filled with people of all ages describes its daily trip to and from a Colombian marketplace. Bright illustrations depict the landscape and evoke energy and joy. Rhyming text.
Karol Hernández
Illustrator: Lorena Alvarez Gómez
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A bus filled with people of all ages describes its daily trip to and from a Colombian marketplace. Bright illustrations depict the landscape and evoke energy and joy. Rhyming text.
If You Want to Ride a Horse
Amy Novesky
Illustrator: Gael Abary
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Poetic, introspective language and soft mixed-media art introduce readers to the joys of horse care and horseback riding. Engaging back matter complements the sophisticated vocabulary throughout the book.
Amy Novesky
Illustrator: Gael Abary
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
Poetic, introspective language and soft mixed-media art introduce readers to the joys of horse care and horseback riding. Engaging back matter complements the sophisticated vocabulary throughout the book.
Iguanodon's Horn, The: How Artists and Scientists Put a Dinosaur Back Together Again and Again . . . and Again
Sean Rubin
Illustrator: Sean Rubin
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A fascinating look at how information about the Iguanodon has evolved over the years with each new scientific discovery. Lavish, full-color digital collage. Extensive notes.
Sean Rubin
Illustrator: Sean Rubin
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
A fascinating look at how information about the Iguanodon has evolved over the years with each new scientific discovery. Lavish, full-color digital collage. Extensive notes.
I Know How to Draw an Owl
Hilary Horder Hippely
Illustrator: Matt James
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
The secret to Belle's skill in drawing owls at school? She sees them nightly in the park where she and her mother sleep. Illustrations in acrylics on Masonite.
Hilary Horder Hippely
Illustrator: Matt James
Ages: 6+
Published: 2024
The secret to Belle's skill in drawing owls at school? She sees them nightly in the park where she and her mother sleep. Illustrations in acrylics on Masonite.