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

Danté Plays His Blues

Allen R. Wells

Illustrator: Shamar Knight-Justice

Ages: 6+

Published: 2024

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

ISBN: 978-0-06-321625-9

Keywords: Family/School/Community-displacement, mothers and sons, Brooklyn, Luna Park, extended family, mentors

A Black boy works through severe homesickness when his musician uncles painstakingly teach him how to play the saxophone. Poignant mixed-media/Procreate illustrations.