Are you looking for some great recommendations for books for tweens?
Choosing the right books for tweens is sometimes tricky. I’ve been there – with a tween at home, finding books that don’t elicit an eye roll can be a challenge.
Teaming up with my tween, we’ve sorted through her favourite books – and those of my (now teen) son to bring you a compilation of the absolute coolest reads for tweens.
From books about role models to self-care, from fiction to fact, this list is your go-to guide for what to pick. So, whether you’re on the hunt for a birthday surprise, a Christmas gift, or just want to encourage a love for reading, take a look at our recommendations and boost your tween’s reading!
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NOTE: While I’ve separated the books below into different categories (for example, best books for tween girls/ best books for tween boys), all of these books are suitable for any gender – it all comes down to individual preferences and interests. Some of these books are more suitable for mature tweens or those in their early teens. Where this is the case, I’ve made reference to this.
Non-Fiction Books for Tween Girls
When it comes to books for tween girls, seeking variety is a great idea. It’s quite easy for kids to get into one genre and stick to it. They may need a bit of encouragement to try something new.
I love books that offer opportunities for motivation and a confidence boost for kids, as well as books they can learn something from. Humour, mystery and suspense are also at the top of the list.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ugly Animals – Sami Bayly
This book might feature some of the ugliest animals, but it’s beautifully laid out and offers some great facts. You’re bound to find some favourites. Ours are the blobfish, proboscis monkey and Aye-Aye!
The Kids Only Cookbook – Sue Quinn
This cookery book especially for kids is the perfect introduction to cooking independently. Recipes are kept simple (but not so simple that they’re boring). Plus they’re all ones kids will enjoy. This is my daughter’s go-to for making rice by herself.
Amazing Evolution: The Journey of Life – Anna Claybourne
Evolution is an awe-inspiring concept and sometimes hard to get your head around! This book is great for kids (and adults alike) as it explains processes such as adaptation and survival of the fittest in a way that’s easy to understand.
The Everything Art Handbook
If you have or know a tween or teen who loves art, this handbook covers everything they could possibly want to learn (it covers over 100 different techniques). It offers step-by-step guides to achieve your final masterpieces.
Blue Planet 2: A New World of Hidden Depths – James Honeyborne and Mark Brownlow
There’s some breath-taking photography in this book which accompanies the Blue Planet television series. The book (and the TV series) looks at how the different oceans vary, from coral reefs to the Arctic, as well as what the future of our oceans holds.
Wonders of Nature – Ben Hoare
This book is full of gems… literally. Covering minerals, plants and animals, this book highlights amazing finds from the natural world. My daughter loves reading this beautifully illustrated book with me at bedtime.
Women in Sport: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win – Rachel Ignotofsky
If you know a girl who’s into sports, this book makes a great birthday gift. It features famous sportswomen such as Serena Williams. It also includes lesser-known figures such as Gertrude Ederle (the first woman to swim the English Channel) who we enjoyed learning about.
Roar: A Guide to Dreaming Big and Playing the Sport You Love – Beth Mead
Beth Mead has won a stream of football awards and she’s an inspirational role model for girls. This book is another great one for girls (and boys) who love sports – encouraging them to find what they love doing and stick at it, even when they face obstacles along the way.
Descriptosaurus: Supporting Creative Writing for Ages 8-14 – Alison Wilcox
Descriptosaurus is a valuable book for kids who need a bit of extra support with creative writing. It offers lots of new vocabulary and suggestions for different ways of writing things. It’ll build their confidence ahead of any tests, and in a fun way too.
Animalium – Katie Scott and Jenny Broom
Another beautiful book about animals, this junior edition of Animalium is aimed at tweens and is easier to digest than the original edition. It’s delightfully illustrated with sections devoted to invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Fiction Books For Tween Girls
Fiction is great for developing both your child’s imagination and vocabulary. Here are some suggestions for fiction books for tween girls my daughter has enjoyed:
Shine – Kate Maryon
This tween fiction book is about Tiff, whose mother is a thief. When Tiff’s Mum is caught, she’s sent to prison and Tiff has to go and live with her aunt on the remote isle of Sark. However, what at first appears to be dull island life soon becomes much more than she had anticipated.
The Illustrated Mum – Jacqueline Wilson
Written by Jaqueline Wilson (author of the Tracey Beaker books, and now a Dame), this book is important and eye-opening – its themes are family, the relationship between sisters, mental health and having a parent who is ‘different’.
Divergent (series) – Veronica Roth
Divergent is the first book in a series of four. Better for more mature tweens or early teens, this is a dystopian book about 16-year-old Tris, who has to make some difficult decisions as the world around her changes for the worse.
Scarlett and Ivy (series) – Sophie Cleverly
The Scarlet and Ivy series is a good introduction to mystery for tweens. Featuring twins Scarlet and Ivy, this tween girl book series focuses on the strange goings on at Rookwood School and how the girls work together to unravel them.
Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City – Rob Biddulph
Artist Rob Biddulph’s first book, Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City is a story about finding solace in art. But Peanut Jones also needs to find her missing Dad – can a magic pencil with special powers she comes across help her?
The Final Gambit (series) – Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Final Gambit is the last instalment in the ‘Inheritance Games’ trilogy. Main character Avery meets her biggest opponent yet in this final book. It has a clever plot and an ending which will have your older tween or early teen desperate to uncover.
Non-Fiction Books for Tween Boys
My now teen son sadly doesn’t read as much as he used to. He was an avid reader at 11 and 12 years old. Here are some suggestions when it comes to books for tween boys – particularly loved by my son and his friends:
Politics for Beginners – Usborne
Covering everything from government and voting to freedom of speech and feminism, Politics for Beginners is a great introduction for tweens into this sometimes confusing world!
Anything is Possible – Gareth Southgate
You don’t have to be a football fan to appreciate the messages in this book from England manager Gareth Southgate. There’s a lot about growth mindset here, plus how to overcome obstacles and turn failures into successes.
You Are Awesome – Matthew Syed
Matthew Syed’s ‘You Are Awesome’ is all about believing you can, working to get there and having the right mindset. All positive and helpful messages for tweens. There’s a journal available to accompany this book, too.
Natural Wonders of the World – DK Books
With a foreword by Chris Packham, this book has to be one of the favourites on our family bookshelf. With images and information about some of the most amazing landscapes and wonders on our planet (from the Great Barrier Reef to the Northern Lights), this is guaranteed to inspire and trigger a desire to travel.
Big Ideas for Curious Minds: An Introduction to Philosophy – The School of Life
This is a kids’ book with some big ideas, as its title suggests. It’s an introduction to philosophy in which tweens will get to know history’s most famous philosophers and the ideas they had, as well as ponder on life’s important questions. Great for developing their own ideas and thoughts.
Fiction Books For Tween Boys
Reading fiction really helped my son develop his language skills and improve his creative writing at school. Fiction also allows children (and adults) to switch off and escape to another world – which is great for their well-being.
Holes – Louis Sachar
My son read Holes at home before he studied it at school. It’s a popular teacher’s pick and one of the best books for tween boys as it features great characters and themes worth unpicking. It’s got plenty of humour in it too, which is never a bad thing.
The Fever Code (series) – James Dashner
The Fever Code is the fifth book of the Dystopian ‘Maze Runner’ series. This is the prequel to the first book – which my son loved as it answered many of the questions he had throughout the series. These are great books for tweens who don’t like to read – they won’t be able to help being absorbed!
Anywhere (series) – Jon Robinson
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Anywhere is book two of the ‘Nowhere’ Series (‘Somewhere’ is the final installation). The series focuses on a set of teenagers who have been imprisoned for crimes they don’t remember committing. There are lots of questions they need to find the answers to and they work together to try and establish them.
Scythe (series) – Neil Shusterman
Scythe, The Toll and Thunderhead are a trilogy with echoes of the classic 1984, focusing on the themes of politics, religion and gender – and the power associated with them. Neil Shusterman also wrote the ‘Unwind’ series which is captivating but possibly for a slightly older audience.
Release – Patrick Ness
‘Release’ is a coming-of-age story for older tweens and early teens. This book is slightly different from Ness’s other offerings (the Chaos Walking Trilogy and A Monster Calls) but equally deserving of being added to your shopping list.
What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible – Ross Welford
This book is good for younger tweens. 13-year-old Ethel has a special power: she can make herself invisible. But although it sounds great, it’s not plain sailing…
The Hunger Games (series) – Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games series has had massive success, being made into hugely popular movies and read the world over. The series follows protagonist Katniss and her experiences in the brutal, televised government-run Hunger Games.
Noughts and Crosses (series) – Malorie Blackman
The Noughts and Crosses books show us a world of apartheid in reverse with a love story at its centre. They’re books which will help more mature tweens and teens think about justice and oppression – big ideas but important to be aware of even from an early age.
Nothing More To Tell (series) – Karen McManus
A murder mystery for older tweens and teens, this is from the author who brought as ‘One of us is Lying’. McManus is known as ‘The Queen of Teen Crime’ – and with good reason. This book is just as worthy as all her others.
Classic Books For Tweens
Although there are lots of newer books for tweens, don’t forget to add a couple of classics to your list. This will help them get to grips with different writing styles and historical events. Here are two classic books for tweens I’d recommend:
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
Whether your tween reads this at school or at home, this short book is a good introduction to Charles Dickens and to the famous character of Ebeneezer Scrooge who is transformed into a better man after being visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
A book about race and class in the Deep South during the 1930s, this classic will introduce older tweens and teens to the concepts of prejudice and justice. It follows the attempts of lawyer Atticus Finch, who despite protestations, tries to prove the innocence of a black man wrongly charged with a serious crime.
Books For Tweens FAQ
Here are the answers to a few questions about recommended books for tweens:
What Should an 11-Year-Old Be Reading?
Each child is different and what is suitable or appealing to one 11-year-old might be very different to another. Some 11-year-olds won’t enjoy reading mystery or spooky stories before bed, while others will be perfectly fine. Read reviews and keep your child’s personality in mind when choosing or agreeing to books for them.
What Genre Should a 12-Year-Old Read?
It’s a good idea for 12-year-olds to read lots of different genres. Often they’ll become quite fixated on one genre (when my son was 12, it was dystopian books). While I was happy that he was reading, I did try and suggest another type of book every now and then.
At my daughter’s school, they have a reading chart outlining different genres. They are encouraged to tick off each genre when they have read a book which falls into this category. This is a great idea, as reading widely will encourage children to be exposed to different types of vocabulary, and see things from different perspectives. It’ll broaden their knowledge and understanding of the world and hopefully make them a little more open-minded.
What are 13 Year Olds Reading?
At 13, your child is no longer a tween but a teen! Most of the books above will still be suitable for them (especially the YA books such as The Hunger Games and Divergent). However, their reading preferences may develop a bit at this age. Or, you might find they need a bit more encouragement to read at all. Try and engage them in selecting books and get them to choose what appeals to them.
Recommended Books for Tweens – The Verdict
I’ve added a mix of books to this list of books for teens to read. This is to cater to kids with different interests and to add a bit of variety to your bookshelves! These books will all make great gifts for teens and tweens, so don’t hesitate to order one or two for upcoming birthdays, and holidays.
And if you’re looking for books on parenting teens and tweens for you as a parent or caregiver, I have some awesome recommendations for books on parenting teens.