If you have a girl, it’s not long before your daughter is a little beyond Ramona and Beezus but not quite ready for The Hunger Games or Twilight. It can be a challenging time. Tween girls don’t want to be treated like little kids anymore and are looking for something more adventurous and challenging to read. As a mom, you want to ensure that the content doesn’t get too mature too fast. As the mother of an avid reader, I’ve spent a lot of time finding age appropriate books that we can both agree on. The ten books listed below are all recommended for kids 9 to 12 years old. So relax and get your daughters into these great books.
1. The Penderwicks – Jeanne Birdsall
This is actually a series of books. My daughter has read The Penderwicks and The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. Next up, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette.
2. The Mysterious Benedict Society – Trenton Lee Stewart
Another series, that includes The Mysterious Benedict Society, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, and The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Prisoner’s Dilemma.
3. The Last Hero: The Heroes of Olympus Book 1 – Rick Riordan
Are you sensing a theme here? My daughter loves series. I don’t blame her, it’s nice to be able to continue along with characters you love. The Last Hero author is also the author of the Percy Jackson series, another great read for tweens.
4. Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine
My daughter had seen the movie for this first starring Anne Hathaway and loved it, so I was surprised when she told me she enjoyed the book more.
5. Little Women – Louisa M. Alcott
My daughter found an old copy of this in a used book store in The Florida Keys. She read it in a day. Some stories never get old.
6. When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead
This book is classified as sci-fi, but it’s also a great glimpse of childhood in the 1970s. Winner of the 2010 Newberry Medal and several other awards, my daughter gives this an very enthusiastic thumbs up. Ooops, sorry, two thumbs up.
7. The Care and Keeping of You – American Girl
My daughters have several American Girl books and as a mom I have absolutely no complaints. Whoever is running their book department gets a standing ovation from me for keeping content age appropriate and wholesome. The Care and Keeping of You is currently my 9 year old’s bible, as it guides her through the changes her body is going through.
8. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
Meant to be read as your child grows, the Harry Potter series is perfect for kids from 7 to 17. This year my daughter has reached the third book, The Prisoner of Azkaban and she’s ready for the darker material and scarier depictions. This is how my family has been tackling The Harry Potter books.
9. Eragon – Christopher Paolini
Oh look, another series. Eragon, the first in the Inheritance series is classified as fantasy and centres around dragons, a boy and a mythical land called Alagaesia. What’s not to love?
10. The Girl Who Could Fly – Victoria Forester
Stephanie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, calls this book a mix between “Little House on the Prairie and X-Men”. That was enough to suck my 9 year old in on this one. I won’t let her read Stephanie Meyer yet, so this was as close as she could get. As it turns out though, she loved it.
Brandy InsaneMamacita says
April 4, 2012 at 8:16 pmLittle Women is one of my favourites!
Kat says
April 4, 2012 at 8:38 pmI really like your list. Some are old favourites and others are new. I’ll add them to my list for my nieces and my daughter.
Shelley says
April 16, 2012 at 11:15 pmSo happy to see this, but also need to add a couple of my absolute favourites that i’ve subjected my neice (8) to and can’t wait to introduce my 5 y/o to:
Anne of Green Gables (Ok, anything by L.M. Montgomery), Trixie Beldon, Nancy Drew, the Madeleine L’Engle Wrinkle in Time trilogy, Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt), Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson), anything by Jean Little or Gordon Korman ……..someone stop me before I make too much of an ass of myself….. 🙂
Of course, there are some Judy Bloom and Paula Danziger books that are great to ‘grow’ into. While I don’t miss being a teenager (or a pre-teen) some of the book options make me seriously nostalgic
Candace says
April 17, 2012 at 1:14 pmOooh, all fabulous choices. Will run these by the 9 year old 🙂
Kathryn says
November 3, 2012 at 2:40 pmI love this list too and am curious about Shelley’s suggestions. Â Just skip the Judy Blume. Â Dated and flat. Â Kids should use their imaginations to explore their worlds and develop thoughts and dreams in my opinion…and L.M. Montgomery does this so beautifully in a timeless fashion. Â
Alisa says
January 9, 2013 at 2:48 pmThe Princess Academy is one of my 101/2 yr olds favorites. Its by Shannon Hale. This author has several other amazing books, me and my daughter love!
Katy Mauller says
July 21, 2013 at 1:08 amThe tail of Emily windsnap is an AWESOME book!!!! Also if you’re looking for a good series, magic tree house is what you need!!!! Take my advice! I am a mother of 6 girls all over 8 under 15!!and of 9 boys. But trust me on the books!
(.)(.) those are eyeballs! Arent they cute! My oldest son told me that! His name is aaron! My husband often sends me text messages saying i love your(.)(.)best thing thats ever happened to me!
Hehe!i always knew my eyes balls we’re geourgeous!
penname40 says
May 17, 2017 at 11:09 pmThat’s not eyeballs!….. LOL
Reese Speaks says
October 15, 2013 at 4:00 pmThank you for coming up with this list! As a tween, my mom had to pry books out of my hands, but my daughter doesn’t share my love of books. Hopefully, this will get her reading a little more.
peady says
May 3, 2014 at 9:50 pm“Ella Enchanted” the book was *way* better than the movie – as is often the case, Your daughter is obviously awesome! 😀
Thing 1 LOVES Rick Riordan *anything*! Percy Jackson, The 39 Clues series, The Heroes of Olympus Series.
Series are great at this age. It’s so nice to have another book to look forward to right away!
Kenneth Oppel is another author Thing 1 loves – and he’s got a new one out now called “The Boundless”. I think Thing 1 will like Eragon, too, (eventually) but is it very dark?
Terrific post!
Missus says
June 6, 2014 at 8:13 pmThanks very much for this list. All but a few are new to my tween girl. I have requested most of the rest from our local library (thank heavens for libraries, as she would rather read than eat).
It feels like we lived for two months in the Land of 39 Clues, and then last month in the Kingdom of Ever After High. I know more about those series than a grown woman should!