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/.

How to Perform a Search and Save a List

It Ain't So Awful, Falafel

by Firoozeh Dumas

Ages: 12+

Published: 2016

Publisher: Clarion Books/HMH

ISBN: 978-0-544-61231-0

Keywords: Hostage Crisis in Iran, Diversity, Iranian-Americans

Cindy, a sixth grader born in Iran, tries to live a normal life in 1970's California during the American hostage crisis in Iran.