A classic to many, Mossflower follows some fun and unique characters on their journey as Tsarmina becomes ruler of the woods and is determined to govern the woodlanders. While many aren’t happy, the two do escape and are determined to end Tsarmina’s tyrannical rule.

Author and Narrator: Brian Jacques

Unhappy about living in New York City, Sam runs away to the Catskill Mountains so that he can live in the woods. This is a story about independence and survival as Sam faces some of the worst dangers in the wilderness. A great introduction to tween audiobooks for a 9-year-old.

Author: Jean Craighead George

Narrator: Michael Crouch

Morrigan Crow was born on the unluckiest day and has now been cursed. She’s blamed for any bad or terrible thing that has happened and will soon need to face her fate. As she awaits her fate, a strange man visits and whisks her away to a secret magical city so that she’s safe. While there, she must compete in four trials to see if she will be allowed to stay.

Author: Jessica Townsend

Narrator: Gemma Whelan

A touching story told from a tween girl’s perspective. Young Mexican girl Esperanza Ortega thought she had everything as heir to El Rancho de las Rosas, until the Great Depression. Her family is forced to flee to California and work alongside migrant farm workers to survive. How will she handle her abrupt change in class?

A poignant and thought-provoking listen, making a great audiobook for a 12-year-old.

Author: Trini Avardo

Narrator: Pam Muñoz Ryan

Max isn’t like the other kids; she and her friends can fly and soar through the sky. While many might think this might be the best thing in the world, Max’s life can change from good to bad at any time.

This story follows Max through her adventures as she discovers that her real purpose is to save the world. An awesome audiobook for an 11-year-old.

Author: James Patterson

Narrator: Evan Rachel Wood

The girls of St. Etheldreda’s school keep a deep, dark secret that they can’t tell anyone about. Will they be able to convince their neighbors and everyone at school that nothing is wrong? A fabulous audiobook for tween girls.

Author: Julie Berry

Narrator: Jayne Entwistle

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school… again. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Is it really his fault, though? He can’t help it if he must protect himself from his teacher that turns into a monster or help protect his friends from the bully that terrorizes them.

Author: Rick Riordan

Narrator: Jesse Bernstein

Fat-shamed and bullied, Middle-schooler Ellie finds her escape by floating in her swimming pool, where she can feel weightless in a fat-shaming world. Can she cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and learn to love herself?

A 2022 Michael J.Printz Honor Book, this is a must-listen for any tweens feeling the stigma of bullying – there are laugh-out-loud moments, but bring tissues!

Author: Lisa Fipps

Narrator: Jenna Lamia

Eragon, a 15-year-old boy, has believed he was just a poor farm boy his whole life until one day, his real destiny comes to life. Gifted with an ancient sword and a loyal dragon, Eragon discovers that destiny is so much more than he thought.

It’s quite a long listen, but one of the best audiobooks for a 12-year-old who loves fantasy literature.

Author: Christopher Paolini

Narrator: Gerard Doyle

Sara is a hacker, and she recently broke into the foster care system to expose her foster parents. She thought she would be considered a hero when she shows everyone that her foster parents were nothing but criminals.

Unfortunately, she finds herself in a lot of trouble and must try to get herself out. A great audiobook for a 10-year-old.

Author: James Ponti

Narrator: Lisa Flanagan

While Alice is upset about moving to a new boring place, she gets put in charge of walking her neighbor’s (Miss Millie) dog, Clarence. He doesn’t seem to want to budge without Miss Mille, so she and Alice walk together and come across some unique characters and stories along the way.

Author: Tamara Bundy

Narrator: Catherine Taber

Rafe isn’t exactly a hero, or a winner, at the Hills Village Middle School, but that is about to change. He’s won an art competition that is about to set him up with a trip to Australia and make everyone jealous of him. He soon finds out that Australia isn’t the easiest place to live and that his host family isn’t very welcoming. A good introductory tween audiobook.

Authors: James Patterson, Martin Chatterton

Narrator: Michael Crouch

If it’s an inspirational read your pre-teen needs this summer, we highly recommend they try the audio version of I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education and Changed the World.

Her now infamous story made into an easy-to-access young reader’s edition will touch and inspire tween listeners.

Authors: Malala Yousafzai

Narrator: Neela Vaswani

No Fixed Address is a heartwarming story about family and friendship as it follows the story of 12-year-old Felix Knuttson. On the brink of his family losing everything, their struggles make Felix more determined to win a competition to help the family.

Author: Susin Nielsen

Narrator: Nissae Isen

A 14-year-old boy goes to visit his grandmother to escape his harsh and painful family life. While he is visiting, he learns that good food, hard work, and peaceful evenings give him strength and faith in himself.

Author: Gary Paulsen

Narrator: Luke Daniels

The classic story that has been read and is loved by millions, A Wrinkle in Time, follows a brother and sister who find that there is such a thing as time travel. This “wrinkle” has sent away their father, and they search space, trying to outwit the evil they come across so that they can find him and bring him back home.

Author: Madeleine L’Engle

Narrators: Madeleine L’Engle, Hope Davis, Ava DuVernay, Charlotte Jones Voiklis

The government has outlawed families with more than two children, so Luke, the third child, has spent his entire life hiding. One day, he meets another third child, begins questioning the government’s policies, and wants to change the law.

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Narrator: Steven Boyer

Even though Ripley is in middle school, he still knows that his dream job is working as a spy for the CIA. Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite meet the characteristics of a spy, but when he finds that his life is in danger, he needs to learn how to become one of the best agents there is.

Author: Stuart Gibbs

Narrator: Gibson Frazier

If your tween is a fan of dragons and an excellent reader, the Keeper of the Dragon series is a great selection.

The series tells the story of Cole, a teenager that learns his parents are the king and queen of dragons and that he will soon one day be the keeper of the dragons.

On his 18^th birthday, Cole goes up against an uncontrollable battle he must overcome to take over his prophecy.

The son of the Dragon King is trapped in human form as he tries to figure out what he needs to do to earn his dragon scales.

Throughout his journey, he must defeat the High Priestess and her dragon master as he meets some fellow helpers along the way.

If your child is a fan of the Percy Jackson series, they will enjoy reading and following through Skandar’s adventure as he tries to leave so that he can visit the secret island.

On his journey, Skandar heads into a world of sky battles and dangerous clashes with unicorns and villains.

Augum Stone is a warlock prodigy that comes with many expectations of how he should act, what he should do, and how he should feel.

He wants to forge his own path of becoming an Arcaner, someone who can summer dragons, but that comes with a lot of consequences.

Grey Cloak and Dyphestive are runaways that must help save the world as their former captor Black Frost is gathering an army to overtake the world.

With no real fighting experience, can the two runaways help save the world and defeat the enemy forces?

An epic tale that tells the story of a disabled teen that feels out of place and her dragon, the Dragon School series goes out looking for her place amount the Dragon Riders.

Trysten’s father is the official Dragoneer, but when he is injured and can no longer lead the dragons into battle, he must choose someone that can.

Trysten wants so bad to take his place and help the fight, but she is a girl.. can she convince them she can be the best leader of the fight?

Eragon, a 15-year-old boy that lives on a poor farm, discovers a polished blue stone that brings him a dragon hatchling.

He’s soon swept into a world of magic and power as he has to make the choice to destroy or save the Empire.

Also available in Audiobook

In order to lure a heroic knight into fighting the dragon, Creel’s aunt wants her to sacrifice her own local dragon.

Knowing that this would lift her family out of poverty, Creel tries to convince and stop her aunt from going forward.

Princess Cimorene is not your typical princess. She’s more of a tomboy and very headstrong.

She runs away to live with Kazul, one of the most powerful and dangerous dragons which bring her to a world of some very odd creatures and lots of action.

Dragons and their keepers pass through the Rain Wild River, in order to protect the dragons and their blood.

With help from the mysterious Rain Wilds, they quickly figure out they may be in more trouble than they thought.

Wonder is a fitting chapter book for 5th graders since the main character is an eleven-year-old boy, August “Auggie” Pullman, who is home-schooled.

He has a genetic condition called Treacher Collins syndrome which means his face is disfigured. To shield him from bullies and those who don’t understand his condition, he is home-schooled by his mother.

But they decided it was time for him to be introduced to the world. So, from the 5th grade, he is to attend Beecher Prep school.

August just wants to be treated like any other kid in school, but it’s hard to make new friends when people don’t look past his exterior.

This is an eye-opening novel about what it means to never judge a book by its cover and to be sensitive to other people’s insecurities and sensitivities.

You might be wondering why I’m recommending the fourth book in the franchise, and that’s because Harry Potter was written for developing age ranges. J.K. Rowling intended Harry Potter to be for her children, so each novel gradually becomes more mature and intended for different age groups.

The Goblet of Fire is when you move from short and sweet novels to whopping great paperbacks with over 600 pages. It’s daunting at first, but for 11-year-olds, it’s an exciting challenge, especially if they loved the first three books.

The story also becomes darker, involving more violence, romance elements, and even death.

I wouldn’t recommend Harry Potter to any child below the second grade because it can be pretty frightening. However, if you want to get your child back into reading, this is definitely fitting for 11+-year-olds.

If the dementors and threat of a dark wizard escaping wizard jail in the third book didn’t frighten your kid, then the fourth book will be ok.

Loser is a powerful story about not fitting in and turning your life around. Written by Newbery-winning author Jerry Spinelli, this classic book is perfect for 11-year-olds who are worried about their place in society.

It follows a boy named Zinkoff, who considers himself like every other kid. But to the other kids in the 6th grade think he’s, well…a loser.

But Zinkoff doesn’t listen to the other kids, and one day his differences make him a hero.

This is a beautiful coming-of-age story about bullying and having self-confidence.

If your child loves fantasy and dragon novels, they will love this fantastic tale by Stephanie Burgis. It follows a brave young dragon named Aventurine who wants to explore the world outside her family’s cave.

However, her family won’t let her leave because they think she’s too young to fly by herself. Determined to prove her wrong, she decides to capture their most dangerous prey, humans.

But humans can be tricky, and one human tricks her into drinking enchanted hot chocolate that turns her into a human.

One taste of chocolate and Aventurine is hooked, and she’s determined to find an apprenticeship with a chocolate maker.

This is a funny, fantasy story for kids about girl power and following your dreams.

Hotel Magnifique is a thriller/fantasy book with a gorgeous black cover about two sisters who take up a job at the Hotel Magnifique.

But this is no ordinary hotel. The Hotel Magnifique only appears in the same place, for one night, every other decade, so if you miss it, you won’t see it again.

Jani and her sister have been on their own for years and working at the hotel is the escape they need from their ordinary lives.

But when they start working there, they suddenly realize there’s something strange about the guests, the staff, and the hotel’s mysterious owner, who no one sees.

Maybe working at the hotel was a mistake?

The Hotel Magnifique can be considered frightening to some kids, so it’s best to discuss it with your child before buying it for them.

Fast Pitch is an inspiring chapter book for 5th-grade girls who enjoy reading books about strong and inspiring girls.

It follows a 12-year-old girl, Shenice Lockwood, who is captain of the Fulton Firebirds Softball Team. She is focused and determined to win the U12 fast-pitch softball regional championship.

But she is faced with prejudice, not just as a woman in sports but as a woman of color. Not to mention her great-uncle Jack has got himself into trouble which may bring shame to the family.

With all this going on in the background, she begins to lose focus. To help her teammates and get back on track, she must help her family, before the Firebirds lose faith in her as Captain.

Flora and Ulysses is a Newbery Medal-winning novel about a shy 10-year-old girl named Flora who enjoys reading superhero comics.

She becomes friends with Ulysses, a squirrel with superpowers. The pair embark on a world of adventures together, which can be enjoyed by gorgeous illustrations created by K. G. Campbell.

This book is written in a black and white comic book style which is attention-grabbing for kids.

Kate DiCamillo is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone is the only person in a city of lawyers who can convince a courtroom to convict a murderer.

Theo lives in the city of Strattenburg, and he knows every member of law enforcement, from the judges to the court clerks, as well as a lot about the law. One day, he dreams of becoming a trial lawyer.

But his dreams are coming sooner than he thinks when he finds himself in a courtroom and thrown into the middle of a murder trial. Only Theo knows the truth about a murderer who is about to go free, but Theo won’t let that happen.

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer is a gripping story of suspense and intrigue, keeping readers hooked from start to finish.

The Percy Jackson series has been loved by kids in their tweens for more than a decade. The series features mythical Gods and monsters from mythology with an action-packed adventure story that has you hooked from start to finish.

The series begins with The Lightening Thief, which is where we are first introduced to our protagonist, Percy Jackson. He’s a good kid but can’t keep control of his anger and focus on schoolwork. Being at boarding school isn’t helping.

When Percy is convinced his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster, Percy’s mom decides it’s time to tell him the truth about his heritage.

She sends Percy to a summer camp for demigods called Camp Half-Blood, where he learns his father is Poseidon, God of the Sea.

With his new friends, including the demigod daughter of Athena, Percy embarks on an adventure full of magic, wonder, and danger…

This is a great book to read for fans looking for books like The Outsiders.

Melody suffers from cerebral palsy, is mute, and cannot walk. She also has a photographic memory – she can remember everything, every minor detail, and every experience.

She is smarter than her classmates and smarter than most adults. But her classmates think she’s mentally challenged because she can’t tell them otherwise.

She doesn’t want to be defined by her cerebral palsy and is determined to tell everyone, but she just needs to work out how.

This is a heartwarming book about determination and perseverance. It’s a great book for 5th graders who need to understand not to judge people by their appearance.

Out of My Mind has won several awards, including the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, Mark Twain Awards, and Nevada Young Readers’ Award.