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

by
4.47 avg rating — 11,597,451 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.01 avg rating — 1,379,061 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
4.12 avg rating — 2,851,964 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.20 avg rating — 4,256,268 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
3.97 avg rating — 1,299,637 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.35 avg rating — 10,083,927 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.33 avg rating — 1,133,451 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.34 avg rating — 1,129,277 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.20 avg rating — 628,910 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
3.88 avg rating — 352,411 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
4.31 avg rating — 3,497,330 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
4.17 avg rating — 2,499,833 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
4.28 avg rating — 27,088 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
4.17 avg rating — 1,316,064 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
4.43 avg rating — 4,575,357 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.03 avg rating — 1,631,080 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.36 avg rating — 4,240,238 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
4.30 avg rating — 4,534,410 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
4.09 avg rating — 509,980 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
4.03 avg rating — 161,334 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
4.35 avg rating — 1,210,026 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
3.77 avg rating — 337,625 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
4.19 avg rating — 309,991 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.06 avg rating — 616,364 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
3.95 avg rating — 258,361 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
3.80 avg rating — 458,326 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
3.99 avg rating — 238,162 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.28 avg rating — 715,437 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
4.15 avg rating — 1,644,459 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
4.08 avg rating — 117,697 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
4.30 avg rating — 5,970 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
4.29 avg rating — 954,657 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
4.24 avg rating — 3,188,196 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
4.03 avg rating — 577,159 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
3.93 avg rating — 445,346 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
3.81 avg rating — 263,493 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
4.06 avg rating — 596,697 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
3.97 avg rating — 1,962,342 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.13 avg rating — 445,688 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
4.21 avg rating — 2,074,535 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
4.02 avg rating — 425,613 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
4.15 avg rating — 568,674 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 174,670 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
4.14 avg rating — 179,787 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.83 avg rating — 1,346,327 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
3.56 avg rating — 67,355 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
4.17 avg rating — 941,101 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
4.32 avg rating — 208,424 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
4.26 avg rating — 6,995,498 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
3.86 avg rating — 161,002 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
4.11 avg rating — 19,940 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
4.11 avg rating — 117,389 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
3.76 avg rating — 512,985 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
4.17 avg rating — 34,123 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
4.23 avg rating — 332,871 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
3.99 avg rating — 16,577 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.83 avg rating — 6,241 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
3.85 avg rating — 126,163 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
3.98 avg rating — 796,174 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.88 avg rating — 432,677 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.01 avg rating — 228 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
3.86 avg rating — 88,525 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
4.41 avg rating — 3,196,417 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.46 avg rating — 845,975 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,487 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.73 avg rating — 17,129 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
3.93 avg rating — 519,552 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
3.92 avg rating — 1,031,425 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 128,117 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
3.67 avg rating — 617,003 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
3.99 avg rating — 138,144 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
4.02 avg rating — 44,707 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
4.01 avg rating — 66,179 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.39 avg rating — 2,926,944 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
3.74 avg rating — 43,027 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
4.14 avg rating — 18,924 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.12 avg rating — 5,797,356 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
4.45 avg rating — 1,181,035 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
4.10 avg rating — 430,156 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
3.85 avg rating — 547,789 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
4.16 avg rating — 94,813 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
4.11 avg rating — 282,616 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 301,225 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.38 avg rating — 22,288 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
3.85 avg rating — 16,235 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.31 avg rating — 9,743 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
4.25 avg rating — 76,881 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
4.29 avg rating — 10,076 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.70 avg rating — 3,252,282 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
3.99 avg rating — 1,240,199 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
4.28 avg rating — 459,157 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.34 avg rating — 37,683 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
4.08 avg rating — 8,292 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
3.75 avg rating — 35,040 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.96 avg rating — 677 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.90 avg rating — 2,888,232 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
4.12 avg rating — 12,715 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
4.27 avg rating — 955,718 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
4.15 avg rating — 210,844 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
4.13 avg rating — 792,545 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
1,737 books · 1,165 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 105 books
6 friends
Sarah 227 books
172 friends
Emily 1536 books
20 friends
Stephy 3402 books
13 friends
Seth 18 books
11 friends
Julia 334 books
32 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3388 books
851 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!


back to top



Related News

What kind of reader are you?   That’s the thesis question for our Personality Picks collection of book recommendations, an experimental new...

Anyone can add books to this list.