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 — 11,314,831 ratings
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2

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4.01 avg rating — 1,356,204 ratings
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3

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4.12 avg rating — 2,787,330 ratings
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4

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4.20 avg rating — 4,158,971 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 1,278,402 ratings
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6

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4.33 avg rating — 1,105,435 ratings
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7

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4.35 avg rating — 9,816,881 ratings
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8

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4.33 avg rating — 1,100,846 ratings
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9

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4.19 avg rating — 617,335 ratings
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10

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3.88 avg rating — 349,009 ratings
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11

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4.31 avg rating — 3,407,699 ratings
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12

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4.17 avg rating — 2,441,194 ratings
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13

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4.28 avg rating — 26,882 ratings
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14

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4.17 avg rating — 1,287,811 ratings
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15

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4.43 avg rating — 4,454,878 ratings
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16

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4.03 avg rating — 1,611,715 ratings
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17

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4.35 avg rating — 4,118,168 ratings
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18

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4.30 avg rating — 4,428,352 ratings
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19

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4.09 avg rating — 504,315 ratings
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20

by
4.03 avg rating — 159,964 ratings
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21

by
4.36 avg rating — 1,188,770 ratings
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22

by
3.77 avg rating — 335,878 ratings
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23

by
4.20 avg rating — 305,698 ratings
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24

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4.06 avg rating — 606,664 ratings
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25

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3.95 avg rating — 255,016 ratings
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26

by
3.79 avg rating — 447,981 ratings
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27

by
3.99 avg rating — 233,893 ratings
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28

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4.08 avg rating — 116,417 ratings
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29

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4.28 avg rating — 704,790 ratings
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30

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4.14 avg rating — 1,584,632 ratings
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31

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4.30 avg rating — 5,960 ratings
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32

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4.24 avg rating — 3,128,873 ratings
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33

by
4.02 avg rating — 567,651 ratings
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34

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 173,302 ratings
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35

by
4.29 avg rating — 934,930 ratings
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36

by
3.81 avg rating — 262,181 ratings
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37

by
3.93 avg rating — 442,054 ratings
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38

by
3.96 avg rating — 1,930,677 ratings
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39

by
4.13 avg rating — 439,003 ratings
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40

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4.06 avg rating — 587,591 ratings
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41

by
4.21 avg rating — 2,032,496 ratings
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42

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4.02 avg rating — 423,517 ratings
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43

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4.15 avg rating — 565,318 ratings
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44

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4.14 avg rating — 177,220 ratings
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45

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3.83 avg rating — 1,333,981 ratings
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46

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3.57 avg rating — 64,746 ratings
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47

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4.17 avg rating — 926,705 ratings
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48

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4.32 avg rating — 195,324 ratings
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49

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4.26 avg rating — 6,828,034 ratings
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50

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3.87 avg rating — 152,003 ratings
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51

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4.12 avg rating — 19,556 ratings
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52

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4.11 avg rating — 114,366 ratings
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53

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3.76 avg rating — 501,148 ratings
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54

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4.17 avg rating — 33,747 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 770,336 ratings
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56

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4.23 avg rating — 323,521 ratings
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57

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3.99 avg rating — 16,256 ratings
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58

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3.83 avg rating — 6,173 ratings
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59

by
3.85 avg rating — 124,942 ratings
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60

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3.88 avg rating — 426,000 ratings
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61

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4.02 avg rating — 228 ratings
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62

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3.86 avg rating — 88,019 ratings
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63

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4.41 avg rating — 3,125,148 ratings
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64

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4.47 avg rating — 775,360 ratings
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65

by
4.01 avg rating — 24,931 ratings
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66

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3.73 avg rating — 17,040 ratings
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67

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3.93 avg rating — 488,259 ratings
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68

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3.92 avg rating — 1,013,352 ratings
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69

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 125,960 ratings
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70

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3.67 avg rating — 575,846 ratings
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71

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3.99 avg rating — 135,029 ratings
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72

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4.02 avg rating — 44,044 ratings
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73

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4.01 avg rating — 65,807 ratings
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74

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4.39 avg rating — 2,857,703 ratings
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75

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3.74 avg rating — 41,484 ratings
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76

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4.13 avg rating — 18,389 ratings
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77

by
4.12 avg rating — 5,679,678 ratings
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78

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4.46 avg rating — 1,142,154 ratings
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79

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4.10 avg rating — 424,386 ratings
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80

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3.85 avg rating — 537,933 ratings
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81

by
4.16 avg rating — 94,195 ratings
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82

by
4.10 avg rating — 278,000 ratings
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83

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 297,429 ratings
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84

by
4.38 avg rating — 21,069 ratings
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85

by
3.85 avg rating — 16,124 ratings
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86

by
4.31 avg rating — 9,657 ratings
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87

by
4.25 avg rating — 74,883 ratings
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88

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4.29 avg rating — 10,017 ratings
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89

by
3.70 avg rating — 3,177,850 ratings
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90

by
3.99 avg rating — 1,152,842 ratings
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91

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4.28 avg rating — 443,552 ratings
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92

by
4.35 avg rating — 35,997 ratings
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93

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4.08 avg rating — 8,288 ratings
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94

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3.75 avg rating — 34,965 ratings
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95

by
3.96 avg rating — 646 ratings
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96

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3.90 avg rating — 2,812,568 ratings
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97

by
4.27 avg rating — 945,380 ratings
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98

by
4.15 avg rating — 208,799 ratings
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99

by
4.12 avg rating — 12,500 ratings
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100

by
4.13 avg rating — 778,093 ratings
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1,710 books · 1,111 voters · list created July 29th, 2008 by Crystel (votes) .
118 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Crystel 262 books
105 friends
Collin 101 books
6 friends
Sarah 227 books
174 friends
Emily 1513 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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