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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 — 11,906,432 ratings
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2

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4.02 avg rating — 1,406,827 ratings
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3

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4.12 avg rating — 2,920,598 ratings
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4

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4.21 avg rating — 4,357,014 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 1,319,039 ratings
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6

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4.33 avg rating — 1,165,303 ratings
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7

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4.36 avg rating — 10,355,435 ratings
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8

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4.34 avg rating — 1,159,253 ratings
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9

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4.20 avg rating — 640,344 ratings
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10

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3.88 avg rating — 356,274 ratings
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11

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4.18 avg rating — 2,558,926 ratings
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12

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4.31 avg rating — 3,585,599 ratings
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13

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4.27 avg rating — 27,052 ratings
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14

by
4.17 avg rating — 1,346,332 ratings
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15

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4.43 avg rating — 4,708,910 ratings
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16

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4.04 avg rating — 1,652,161 ratings
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17

by
4.37 avg rating — 4,374,053 ratings
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18

by
4.71 avg rating — 80 ratings
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19

by
4.30 avg rating — 4,666,684 ratings
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20

by
4.10 avg rating — 517,329 ratings
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21

by
4.03 avg rating — 163,579 ratings
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22

by
4.98 avg rating — 63 ratings
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23

by
4.20 avg rating — 315,084 ratings
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24

by
4.35 avg rating — 1,230,799 ratings
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25

by
3.77 avg rating — 339,517 ratings
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26

by
4.06 avg rating — 626,918 ratings
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27

by
3.95 avg rating — 261,728 ratings
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28

by
3.80 avg rating — 468,798 ratings
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29

by
4.93 avg rating — 75 ratings
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30

by
3.98 avg rating — 243,780 ratings
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31

by
4.28 avg rating — 726,683 ratings
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32

by
4.15 avg rating — 1,705,047 ratings
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33

by
4.08 avg rating — 119,155 ratings
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34

by
4.30 avg rating — 5,949 ratings
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35

by
4.28 avg rating — 973,314 ratings
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36

by
4.24 avg rating — 3,244,980 ratings
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37

by
4.03 avg rating — 589,617 ratings
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38

by
3.93 avg rating — 448,880 ratings
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39

by
3.81 avg rating — 265,439 ratings
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40

by
4.07 avg rating — 606,601 ratings
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41

by
4.21 avg rating — 2,116,088 ratings
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42

by
4.15 avg rating — 573,335 ratings
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43

by
3.97 avg rating — 1,995,352 ratings
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44

by
4.13 avg rating — 452,770 ratings
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45

by
4.02 avg rating — 428,124 ratings
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46

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 176,147 ratings
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47

by
4.14 avg rating — 182,575 ratings
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48

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3.83 avg rating — 1,357,772 ratings
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49

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3.56 avg rating — 69,546 ratings
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50

by
4.17 avg rating — 956,700 ratings
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51

by
4.31 avg rating — 222,799 ratings
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52

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4.11 avg rating — 120,972 ratings
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53

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4.26 avg rating — 7,165,967 ratings
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54

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3.86 avg rating — 170,129 ratings
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55

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4.12 avg rating — 20,514 ratings
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56

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3.76 avg rating — 525,000 ratings
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57

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4.17 avg rating — 34,525 ratings
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58

by
4.23 avg rating — 336,724 ratings
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59

by
3.99 avg rating — 16,895 ratings
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60

by
3.83 avg rating — 6,331 ratings
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61

by
3.86 avg rating — 127,458 ratings
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62

by
3.99 avg rating — 816,879 ratings
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63

by
3.88 avg rating — 440,283 ratings
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64

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 230 ratings
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65

by
3.86 avg rating — 89,163 ratings
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66

by
4.41 avg rating — 3,254,726 ratings
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67

by
4.46 avg rating — 928,413 ratings
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68

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 27,532 ratings
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69

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3.73 avg rating — 17,201 ratings
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70

by
3.92 avg rating — 560,012 ratings
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71

by
3.92 avg rating — 1,050,910 ratings
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72

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 130,152 ratings
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73

by
3.67 avg rating — 656,714 ratings
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74

by
4.39 avg rating — 2,998,136 ratings
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75

by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 67 ratings
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76

by
3.99 avg rating — 141,167 ratings
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77

by
4.02 avg rating — 45,312 ratings
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78

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4.01 avg rating — 66,597 ratings
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79

by
3.74 avg rating — 44,676 ratings
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80

by
4.14 avg rating — 19,504 ratings
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81

by
4.12 avg rating — 5,912,563 ratings
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82

by
4.45 avg rating — 1,226,469 ratings
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83

by
4.10 avg rating — 435,663 ratings
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84

by
3.85 avg rating — 558,674 ratings
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85

by
4.16 avg rating — 95,437 ratings
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86

by
4.11 avg rating — 287,919 ratings
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87

by
4.01 avg rating — 305,020 ratings
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88

by
4.38 avg rating — 23,514 ratings
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89

by
4.28 avg rating — 480,052 ratings
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90

by
4.33 avg rating — 39,284 ratings
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91

by
3.85 avg rating — 16,346 ratings
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92

by
4.31 avg rating — 9,839 ratings
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93

by
4.25 avg rating — 79,281 ratings
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94

by
4.28 avg rating — 10,086 ratings
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95

by
3.71 avg rating — 3,338,289 ratings
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96

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,333,584 ratings
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97

by
3.96 avg rating — 696 ratings
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98

by
4.08 avg rating — 8,306 ratings
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99

by
3.90 avg rating — 2,976,002 ratings
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100

by
4.13 avg rating — 12,919 ratings
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1,760 books · 1,278 voters · list created July 29th, 2008 by Crystel (votes) .
119 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Crystel 233 books
104 friends
Collin 319 books
6 friends
Emily 1626 books
21 friends
Stephy 3460 books
13 friends
Seth 18 books
11 friends
Julia 334 books
32 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3388 books
848 friends
Jacob 110 books
12 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 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?????


message 7: by Georgina (new)

Georgina Warren These picture books should be removed because they are for readers much younger than 12.

A Hero Named Nikki

I Can't Believe They're Gone: A kid's grief book that hugs, helps, and gives hope

Moos, Mud, Mayhem!


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