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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Tree Girl
by T.A. Barron
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Anna seeks answers to the mystery of her parentage and seeks answers in the forbidding forest her guardian has warned her against.
by T.A. Barron
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Anna seeks answers to the mystery of her parentage and seeks answers in the forbidding forest her guardian has warned her against.
Trial by Journal
by Kate Klise
Illustrator: M. Sarah Klise
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
A twelve-year-old juror sits on a case involving a murder at the Tyle Park Zoo. Preposterous and funny.
by Kate Klise
Illustrator: M. Sarah Klise
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
A twelve-year-old juror sits on a case involving a murder at the Tyle Park Zoo. Preposterous and funny.
Uncle Daddy
by Ralph Fletcher
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Nine-year-old Rivers deals with challenging emotional problems when his missing father reappears and his beloved great-uncle becomes seriously ill.
by Ralph Fletcher
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Nine-year-old Rivers deals with challenging emotional problems when his missing father reappears and his beloved great-uncle becomes seriously ill.
Understanding Buddy
by Marc Kornblatt
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Fifth-grader Sam tries to help his fellow classemate Buddy adjust to the death of his mother and a new school.
by Marc Kornblatt
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Fifth-grader Sam tries to help his fellow classemate Buddy adjust to the death of his mother and a new school.
Up a Creek
by Laura E. Williams
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Thirteen-year-old Starshine resents her mother's attention to “causes” rather than to her needs and those of her grandmother.
by Laura E. Williams
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Thirteen-year-old Starshine resents her mother's attention to “causes” rather than to her needs and those of her grandmother.
Walk Across the Sea
by Susan Fletcher
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Eliza, daughter of the lighthouse keeper, learns the difficulties involved in protecting a Chinese boy against racism.
by Susan Fletcher
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Eliza, daughter of the lighthouse keeper, learns the difficulties involved in protecting a Chinese boy against racism.
Weather Legends
by Carole Garbuny Vogel, photos
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Simple stories combined with thoughtful photographs and clearly explained facts.
by Carole Garbuny Vogel, photos
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Simple stories combined with thoughtful photographs and clearly explained facts.
What Every Girl (except me) Knows
by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Upset by the abrupt departure of her father's fiancée, Gabby is again confronted with the circumstances of her mother's accidental death.
by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Upset by the abrupt departure of her father's fiancée, Gabby is again confronted with the circumstances of her mother's accidental death.
Witness
by Karen Hesse
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
In spare free verse, eleven characters tell of a Vermont town in 1924 and the impact of discrimination and the arrival of the Ku Klux Klan. Suspenseful and moving.
by Karen Hesse
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
In spare free verse, eleven characters tell of a Vermont town in 1924 and the impact of discrimination and the arrival of the Ku Klux Klan. Suspenseful and moving.
Zazoo
by Richard Mosher
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Zazoo, a Vietnamese girl living in France today with her aging grandfather, deals with the hatreds and losses of World War II.
by Richard Mosher
Ages: 9+
Published: 2001
Zazoo, a Vietnamese girl living in France today with her aging grandfather, deals with the hatreds and losses of World War II.
Adaline Falling Star
by Mary Pope Osborne
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
After the death of her Arapaho mother, Kit Carson takes his daughter to live with cruel relatives. A vivid survival story.
by Mary Pope Osborne
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
After the death of her Arapaho mother, Kit Carson takes his daughter to live with cruel relatives. A vivid survival story.
An Algonquian Year
written and ill. by Michael McCurdy
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Month-by -month life of Native American tribes of the northeast before the arrival of the white man. Scratchboard illustrations.
written and ill. by Michael McCurdy
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Month-by -month life of Native American tribes of the northeast before the arrival of the white man. Scratchboard illustrations.
Aria of the Sea
by Dia Calhoun
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
After Cerinthe is accepted in the School of Royal Dancers, she learns to deal with a vicious classmate, tyrannical teachers, and her own choice--dancing or healing.
by Dia Calhoun
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
After Cerinthe is accepted in the School of Royal Dancers, she learns to deal with a vicious classmate, tyrannical teachers, and her own choice--dancing or healing.
At the Sign of the Star
by Katherine Sturtevant
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
In seventeenth century London, ten-year-old Meg loses her inheritance and struggles to make a place for herself in the newly liberalized literary world.
by Katherine Sturtevant
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
In seventeenth century London, ten-year-old Meg loses her inheritance and struggles to make a place for herself in the newly liberalized literary world.
A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales
by Ellen Datlow
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Thirteen surprising and delightful fairy tales retold with twists in plot and location.
by Ellen Datlow
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Thirteen surprising and delightful fairy tales retold with twists in plot and location.
A Year and a Day
by
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
A fairy boy adopted by a poor Cornish family teaches them compassion, love, and understanding.
by
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
A fairy boy adopted by a poor Cornish family teaches them compassion, love, and understanding.
A Year Down Yonder
by Richard Peck
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
During the 1937 Depression, Mary Alice is forced to stay with her grandmother and gains respect for the feisty old woman. Warmhearted sequel to A Long Way to Chicago.
by Richard Peck
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
During the 1937 Depression, Mary Alice is forced to stay with her grandmother and gains respect for the feisty old woman. Warmhearted sequel to A Long Way to Chicago.
A Year Without Rain
by D. Anne Love
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Still missing her dead mother, Rachel is angry at the idea of a new stepmother. Set on a Dakota farm during a severe drought.
by D. Anne Love
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Still missing her dead mother, Rachel is angry at the idea of a new stepmother. Set on a Dakota farm during a severe drought.
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Ten-year old Opal, motherless and lonely, adopts a needy grinning dog and collects some surprising friends. Humorous and heartwarming.
by Kate DiCamillo
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Ten-year old Opal, motherless and lonely, adopts a needy grinning dog and collects some surprising friends. Humorous and heartwarming.
Betsy Zane
by Lynda Durrant
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
A brave thirteen-year-old helps win the last battle of the American Revolution and learns about allies and enemies...and herself.
by Lynda Durrant
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
A brave thirteen-year-old helps win the last battle of the American Revolution and learns about allies and enemies...and herself.
Boots and the Seven Leaguers
by Jane Yolen
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
A rock-and-roll concert, a kidnapped brother, and trolls.
by Jane Yolen
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
A rock-and-roll concert, a kidnapped brother, and trolls.
Charlie's Run
by Valerie Hobbs
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
A sensitive eleven-year-old reacts to his parents' separation by running away.
by Valerie Hobbs
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
A sensitive eleven-year-old reacts to his parents' separation by running away.
Cherokee Sister
by Debbie Dadey
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
While with her Native American friends, a pioneer girl is captured by soldiers and must accompany them on the Trail of Tears.
by Debbie Dadey
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
While with her Native American friends, a pioneer girl is captured by soldiers and must accompany them on the Trail of Tears.
Cinderellis and the Glass Hill
by Gail Carson Levine
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
In this delightful twist on the familiar fairy tale, with elements from a host of other stories, cleverness and honesty and a little magic win the day.
by Gail Carson Levine
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
In this delightful twist on the familiar fairy tale, with elements from a host of other stories, cleverness and honesty and a little magic win the day.
Cockroach Cooties
by Laurence Yep
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Bugs, bullies and sibling rivalry. A charming humorous story.
by Laurence Yep
Ages: 9+
Published: 2000
Bugs, bullies and sibling rivalry. A charming humorous story.