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

Labors of Hercules Beal, The

Gary D. Schmidt

Ages: 12+

Published: 2023

Publisher: Clarion Books/HarperCollins

ISBN: 978-0-358-65963-1

Keywords: Greek Myths, Brothers, siblings, school, orphans, friendships, plants, Cape Cod, heroism, storm damage

A perceptive teacher helps a compassionate, orphaned seventh grader deal with grief by requiring him to relate Hercules's 12 labors to events in his own life. Quirky, humorous voice.