Children's book lists go from Snuggle Puppy to The Stand. That's fine, but as an auntie, it's hard to know where in the spectrum a particular child might fall. So this list is of books you or children you know loved at around age twelve.

As part of this series:
Books for one-year-olds
Books for two-year-olds
Books for three-year-olds
Books for four-year-olds
Books for five-year-olds
Books for six-year-olds
Books for seven-year-olds
Books for eight-year-olds
Books for nine-year-olds
Books for ten-year-olds
Books for eleven-year-olds
Books for twelve-year-olds
Books for thirteen-year-olds
1

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4.47 avg rating — 11,456,664 ratings
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2

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4.01 avg rating — 1,366,520 ratings
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3

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4.12 avg rating — 2,817,969 ratings
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4

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4.20 avg rating — 4,205,931 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 1,288,686 ratings
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6

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4.35 avg rating — 9,950,999 ratings
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7

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4.33 avg rating — 1,117,527 ratings
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8

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4.34 avg rating — 1,114,065 ratings
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9

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4.20 avg rating — 622,769 ratings
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10

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3.88 avg rating — 350,417 ratings
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11

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4.31 avg rating — 3,451,381 ratings
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12

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4.17 avg rating — 2,469,949 ratings
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13

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4.28 avg rating — 27,002 ratings
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14

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4.17 avg rating — 1,300,509 ratings
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15

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4.43 avg rating — 4,512,402 ratings
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16

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4.03 avg rating — 1,620,760 ratings
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17

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4.36 avg rating — 4,173,990 ratings
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18

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4.30 avg rating — 4,469,861 ratings
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19

by
4.09 avg rating — 506,572 ratings
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20

by
4.03 avg rating — 160,544 ratings
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21

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4.36 avg rating — 1,198,237 ratings
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22

by
3.77 avg rating — 336,587 ratings
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23

by
4.20 avg rating — 307,459 ratings
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24

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4.06 avg rating — 610,772 ratings
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25

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3.95 avg rating — 256,378 ratings
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26

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3.80 avg rating — 452,418 ratings
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27

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3.99 avg rating — 235,810 ratings
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28

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4.28 avg rating — 709,483 ratings
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29

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4.15 avg rating — 1,612,197 ratings
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30

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4.08 avg rating — 116,916 ratings
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31

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4.30 avg rating — 5,966 ratings
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32

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4.24 avg rating — 3,160,503 ratings
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33

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4.02 avg rating — 571,945 ratings
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34

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4.29 avg rating — 943,890 ratings
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35

by
3.81 avg rating — 262,674 ratings
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36

by
3.93 avg rating — 443,360 ratings
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37

by
3.97 avg rating — 1,945,482 ratings
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38

by
4.13 avg rating — 441,791 ratings
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39

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4.06 avg rating — 591,648 ratings
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40

by
4.21 avg rating — 2,052,403 ratings
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41

by
4.02 avg rating — 424,281 ratings
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42

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4.15 avg rating — 566,633 ratings
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43

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 173,735 ratings
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44

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4.14 avg rating — 178,228 ratings
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45

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3.83 avg rating — 1,339,065 ratings
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46

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3.57 avg rating — 65,943 ratings
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47

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4.17 avg rating — 933,145 ratings
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48

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4.32 avg rating — 200,769 ratings
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49

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4.26 avg rating — 6,910,465 ratings
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50

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3.86 avg rating — 155,753 ratings
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51

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4.12 avg rating — 19,703 ratings
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52

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4.11 avg rating — 115,574 ratings
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53

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3.76 avg rating — 506,137 ratings
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54

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4.17 avg rating — 33,891 ratings
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55

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4.23 avg rating — 330,919 ratings
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56

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3.99 avg rating — 16,381 ratings
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57

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3.83 avg rating — 6,201 ratings
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58

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3.85 avg rating — 125,396 ratings
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59

by
3.98 avg rating — 782,506 ratings
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60

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3.88 avg rating — 428,905 ratings
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61

by
4.02 avg rating — 228 ratings
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62

by
3.86 avg rating — 88,180 ratings
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63

by
4.41 avg rating — 3,162,902 ratings
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64

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4.47 avg rating — 805,099 ratings
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65

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 25,676 ratings
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66

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3.73 avg rating — 17,072 ratings
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67

by
3.93 avg rating — 500,772 ratings
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68

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3.92 avg rating — 1,021,614 ratings
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69

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 126,763 ratings
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70

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3.67 avg rating — 593,611 ratings
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71

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3.98 avg rating — 136,142 ratings
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72

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4.02 avg rating — 44,340 ratings
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73

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4.01 avg rating — 65,902 ratings
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74

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4.39 avg rating — 2,889,654 ratings
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75

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3.74 avg rating — 42,049 ratings
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76

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4.13 avg rating — 18,605 ratings
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77

by
4.12 avg rating — 5,741,439 ratings
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78

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4.46 avg rating — 1,158,716 ratings
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79

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4.10 avg rating — 426,936 ratings
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80

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3.85 avg rating — 542,104 ratings
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81

by
4.16 avg rating — 94,449 ratings
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82

by
4.10 avg rating — 279,941 ratings
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83

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 298,953 ratings
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84

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4.38 avg rating — 21,528 ratings
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85

by
3.85 avg rating — 16,152 ratings
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86

by
4.31 avg rating — 9,690 ratings
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87

by
4.25 avg rating — 75,659 ratings
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88

by
4.29 avg rating — 10,046 ratings
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89

by
3.70 avg rating — 3,211,264 ratings
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90

by
3.99 avg rating — 1,193,337 ratings
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91

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4.28 avg rating — 450,057 ratings
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92

by
4.35 avg rating — 36,506 ratings
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93

by
4.08 avg rating — 8,288 ratings
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94

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3.75 avg rating — 34,990 ratings
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95

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3.96 avg rating — 657 ratings
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96

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3.90 avg rating — 2,847,446 ratings
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97

by
4.27 avg rating — 949,533 ratings
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98

by
4.15 avg rating — 209,649 ratings
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99

by
4.12 avg rating — 12,575 ratings
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100

by
4.13 avg rating — 784,615 ratings
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1,709 books · 1,116 voters · list created July 29th, 2008 by Crystel (votes) .
118 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Crystel 261 books
105 friends
Collin 110 books
6 friends
Sarah 227 books
173 friends
Emily 1518 books
20 friends
Stephy 3402 books
13 friends
Seth 18 books
11 friends
Julia 334 books
32 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3386 books
851 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Barringer (new)

Barringer Publishing Malia & Teacup: Awesome African Adventure Malia & Teacup Awesome African Adventure by Molly Barrow Exciting adventure book about a 12 year old girl and her little dog traveling to Africa to find her dad.


message 2: by Lukia (new)

Lukia A lot of the books on this list are wonderful but are more breathtaking for younger readers. I think many people underestimate the capability of a 12 year old. Some forget to realize that we are almost teens, and are ready to gain advanced knowledge of the world. Classics and light teen books are the way to go. My personal recommendation for a tween (twelve) is The Book Thief. I think it really opens your mind to a different perspective and I got a lot out of it. (My mom loved it too) Lovely list though!


message 3: by Sam (last edited Feb 17, 2014 06:42AM) (new)

Sam Schenström I think it's really hard to say what is fit for a 12-year-old, because people are so different in that age. While some are still like children, others may already have read huge amounts of books and are way into their puberty, and they would want to start reading adult books and classics. That's how I was. But at the same time, I never lost my appetite for children's books. I read The Witches by Roald Dahl when I was 12, and I loved it!

The one book I would want more grown up 12-year-olds to read is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It deals with very serious issues, but I think people need to learn about these issues much earlier, and the narrator of the book has to deal with them from the age of 13.


message 4: by ~☆~Autumn (last edited Dec 30, 2023 08:03PM) (new)

~☆~Autumn When I was 12 I read Jack London's The Call of the Wild and White Fang which I loved. I also read Gone with the Wind and my sister who was younger read Great Expectations but I don't think these are appropriate for 12 year olds today!


message 5: by ~☆~Autumn (new)

~☆~Autumn Many of these books are NOT appropriate for 12 year olds! No 12 year old should be reading Dracula!!! I am shocked.


message 6: by Rachel (new)

Rachel No one under the age of 18 should be reading Punk 57. What in the absolute hell is this list? Are you all high?????


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