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By age · 10 to 12 years

Books for 10, 11 and 12 year olds: seven novels for the last years of primary school

6 min read10 sources7 books

Illustration: books fanned out, one open on a squirrel and a lake landscape, with an owl, a fox and a sleeping fawn

Between ten and twelve, some children read a novel a week, and others stop reading for pleasure. Publishers and libraries now speak of “ten and up”, and the books deal with bigger things: history, friendship, loss.

Here's what's going on at this age, seven novels with the age the publisher, BookTrust or Ireland's public libraries give, and how to stay part of your child's reading.

In brief

What's going on at this age

  • Longer novels. The UK publisher Chicken House gives Inkheart as 9+, while BookTrust gives an interest age of 8+ and a reading age of 9+.1 At this age, long novels like this one come within reach for reading alone.
  • Sources can disagree widely. For Under the Hawthorn Tree, the reviews of Ireland's public libraries say 10 to 12, and a school supplier says 7 to 9. We give both, and let you judge your own child.
  • Paper or screen? A meta-analysis of 54 studies, with readers from primary school to adulthood, found better comprehension on paper, especially under time pressure and for information texts; for stories, no difference.2
  • Still nine to twelve hours of sleep per day up to twelve, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.3
Our suggestions

Seven books for 10 to 12 year olds

The age comes from the publisher, BookTrust or Ireland's libraries, and is named for each book. Two titles come from the Irish publisher The O'Brien Press.

  1. 01

    Inkheart

    Cornelia Funke · Chicken House, 2003 · Chicken House: 9+; BookTrust: interest age 8+, reading age 9+

    Meggie's father can read characters out of books, and some of them are dangerous. A long, dark adventure about the power of stories, and the first of a trilogy.

  2. 02

    Alice Again

    Judi Curtin · The O'Brien Press · “10 and up” and “10 to 12 year olds”, in press quotes on the publisher's page

    From Judi Curtin's Alice & Megan series about two friends. The press quotes on the publisher's page name exactly this age: ten and up, ten to twelve.

  3. 03

    Under the Hawthorn Tree

    Marita Conlon-McKenna · The O'Brien Press · 10 to 12, according to Libraries Ireland; 7 to 9, according to a school supplier

    Three children set out alone across Ireland during the Great Famine. An Irish school classic, first published in 1990, that gives history a face.

  4. 04

    The Brilliant World of Tom Gates

    Liz Pichon · Scholastic, 2011 · BookTrust: interest age 9 to 11, reading age 9+

    At the top of BookTrust's interest age of nine to eleven: a series for readers who like their stories full of drawings and jokes.

  5. 05

    The Neverending Story

    Michael Ende · Puffin · reading age 9 to 12, according to the publisher's data

    Bastian reads a book and is drawn into Fantastica. 528 pages in the Puffin edition: a real journey, and a book about why we read.

  6. 06

    The Deepest Breath

    Meg Grehan · Little Island · Little Island: 9-11

    A short novel by Meg Grehan from the Irish publisher Little Island, listed for nine to eleven.

  7. 07

    James and the Giant Peach

    Roald Dahl · Various editions · BookTrust: 9 to 14

    Roald Dahl's giant peach, rated nine to fourteen by BookTrust: short enough for a reluctant reader, strange enough for a keen one.

In practice

Staying part of your child's reading

Ask about the characters. “Who do you like in it?” opens a better conversation than “How far have you got?”

Read the same book. Reading what your child reads gives you something to talk about that has nothing to do with school.

Hard subjects, together. Under the Hawthorn Tree is about the Famine. A child who reads it may have questions only you can answer.

Some children who read alone happily still like to be read to. Our page on reading development ends at this age, and our history of children's books tells where many classics come from.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What books are good for a 10 year old?

Novels with a strong story: Inkheart, The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, The Neverending Story, James and the Giant Peach, or Irish titles like Alice Again and The Deepest Breath, each with the age the publisher, BookTrust or Ireland's libraries give.

What books are good for an 11 or 12 year old?

Longer novels and books that deal with bigger subjects: Inkheart, The Neverending Story, or Under the Hawthorn Tree, which Ireland's public libraries place at 10 to 12.

What age is Under the Hawthorn Tree for?

The reviews of Ireland's public libraries say 10 to 12; a school supplier says 7 to 9. The book is about the Great Famine, so many parents prefer the higher age or read it together.

My 11 year old has stopped reading. What can I do?

Let them choose, count every kind of book, and read what they read. A series with drawings like Tom Gates, or a book a friend loves, often gets a reader going again.

References

Sources

  1. 1.BookTrust Bookfinder.What it confirms: Books listed with two ages, an interest age and a reading age.
  2. 2.Delgado, Vargas, Ackerman and Salmerón (2018): Don't throw away your printed books, meta-analysis, Educational Research Review.What it confirms: Better comprehension on paper, especially under time pressure and for information texts; no difference for narrative texts; participants from primary school to adulthood.
  3. 3.American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org: Healthy Sleep Habits.What it confirms: Sleep needs per day: 11 to 14 hours at 1 to 2 years, 10 to 13 at 3 to 5, 9 to 12 at 6 to 12.
  4. 4.Chicken House: Inkheart, Inkheart Trilogy Book 1.What it confirms: The age guidance 9+; Anthea Bell as translator.
  5. 5.The O'Brien Press: Alice Again.What it confirms: Press quotes on the publisher's page: “10 and up” (Evening Echo), “10 to 12 year olds” (In Touch).
  6. 6.Libraries Ireland, Summer Stars: Under the Hawthorn Tree.What it confirms: The age band 10-12 in the libraries' review; a school supplier gives 7 to 9.
  7. 7.BookTrust Bookfinder: The Brilliant World of Tom Gates.What it confirms: Interest age 9 to 11, reading age 9+; Scholastic, 2011.
  8. 8.Amazon.co.uk, publisher's data for the Puffin edition: The Neverending Story.What it confirms: Reading age 9 to 12; Puffin, 2014, 528 pages; translated by Ralph Manheim.
  9. 9.Little Island: The Deepest Breath.What it confirms: The catalogue category 9-11.
  10. 10.BookTrust: Roald Dahl books.What it confirms: The BFG 5 to 14, Matilda 5 to 14, James and the Giant Peach 9 to 14.

A word about us

A story that's theirs

Between ten and twelve, children want books that take them seriously.

At Sagalino, your child becomes the hero of a story with their name, in one of our 21 illustration styles. You read the whole story for free, and only pay afterwards.

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