Children’s Book Committee
The Children’s Book Committee (CBC) was founded more than 100 years ago to help parents, teachers, and librarians choose the books that children will find captivating and transforming. Every year it produces comprehensive annotated book lists for children aged infant through 18.
Our Mission
The CBC reviews over 6000 titles each year for accuracy and literary quality and considers their emotional impact on children. It chooses the best 600 books, both fiction and nonfiction, which it lists with annotations according to age and category.
The Children’s Book Committee strives to guide librarians, educators, parents, grandparents, and other interested adults to the best books for children published each year. The list includes more than 600 titles chosen by reviewers for literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes.
To contact us, please email bookcom@bankstreet.edu.
Children's Book Committee July Pick
Youth Review for parents, librarians, and teachers who care for them.
Our Young Reviewer Says:
John Schu’s Louder Than Hunger is the recipient of the 2025 Youth Choice Award (dedicated to Robie Harris). The honor is deliberated and chosen by Bank Street Youth Ambassadors as a work of outstanding literary merit on sensitive subjects written for a youth audience from among the Best Books of the Year list created by the Children’s Book Committee (CBC). The committee is composed of diverse students under the age of 18, who share a love of reading and years of service to the book community through dedicated and honest book reviews. While the committee selection is confidential, a few members of the Youth Committee have written additional comments. Read more…
–Quade, age 16, San Diego, CA.