Book Club › Books by level › Level 12
Books for level 12 readers
Usually 7th grade. 90 to 130 words on a page, sentences up to about 48 words long.
Peabody's level 12 stories, free to read now
- A Word of Welsh16 short pages
- Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves18 short pages · a classic
- Alone on Harrow Rock14 short pages
- Chameleons Up Close11 short pages · true
- Circe and the Sirens10 short pages · a classic
- Four Days in Sienna Canyon21 short pages
- Gulliver in Lilliput14 short pages · a classic
- Heidi15 short pages · a classic
- How Fear Came15 short pages · a classic
- Icarus and Daedalus14 short pages · a classic
- Kaa's Hunting16 short pages · a classic
- Nausicaa and the Stranger10 short pages · a classic
- Nobody Calls It Luck20 short pages
- Rip Van Winkle14 short pages · a classic
- Robin Hood16 short pages · a classic
- Rule Fourteen13 short pages
- The Debt of Ambrose Tilley14 short pages
- The Monkey King14 short pages · a classic
- The Nightingale18 short pages · a classic
- The Shell Line17 short pages
- The Slow Leak15 short pages
- The Snow Queen22 short pages · a classic
- The Thirty-Three Miners11 short pages · true
- The Trojan Horse15 short pages · a classic
- The Tuning Fork Door17 short pages
- The Well That Breathed17 short pages
- The White Seal17 short pages · a classic
From Peabody's kids' book lists
Top 25 books for a 7th grader
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · ages 12-16. Greasers and Socs in 1960s Oklahoma, told by 14-year-old Ponyboy. Written by a teenager and still the book that hooks reluctant readers. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · ages 12-16. Katniss volunteers for a televised fight to the death between teenagers. A fast read that raises questions about power and entertainment. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card · ages 12-16. Six-year-old Ender is trained as a space commander in a school of war games. Strategy, loneliness, and a famous ending. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- Monster by Walter Dean Myers · ages 12-16. Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder, and writes it as a film script. Won the first Printz Award (2000), a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and a quick read. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · ages 12-16. Will rides an elevator down seven floors with a gun, deciding whether to avenge his brother. A novel in verse that takes under an hour to read. Bookshop.org · Amazon
Books for seventh and eighth grade readers
- The Giver by Lois Lowry · ages 11-14. A boy is chosen to hold his society's memories. Newbery Medal 1994. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton · ages 12-15. Greasers and Socs in 1960s Oklahoma. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · ages 12-16. Teenagers forced to fight to the death on TV. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card · ages 12-16. A boy is trained to fight an alien war in space. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- Refugee by Alan Gratz · ages 10-14. Three refugee children across history. Bookshop.org · Amazon
15 classics a middle schooler can actually enjoy
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien · ages 10-14. Bilbo Baggins leaves his hole for a quest with dwarves to take back a mountain from a dragon. The right door into Middle-earth. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson · ages 10-14. Jim Hawkins finds a map and sails with a crew that includes Long John Silver. Invented the pirate story as we know it. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery · ages 9-14. Orphan Anne arrives at Green Gables by mistake and wins the town. A warm, funny classic and a long read. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott · ages 10-14. Four sisters grow up in Civil War era Massachusetts. Long and gentle, with Jo as an enduring heroine. Bookshop.org · Amazon
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London · ages 11-15. Buck, a pet dog, is stolen and sent to the Klondike and becomes a wolf in spirit. Short and gripping. Bookshop.org · Amazon
Series at this age
- Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland, drawn by Mike Holmes, ages 8–12: 9 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, ages 8–12: 21 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi, ages 8–12: 9 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Bone by Jeff Smith, ages 8–12: 9 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier, drawn by Douglas Holgate, ages 8–12: 10 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels by Ann M. Martin (adapted by Raina Telgemeier and other artists), ages 8–12: 20 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Hilo by Judd Winick, ages 8–12: 12 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson, ages 8–12: 24 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce, ages 8–12: 8 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Chi's Sweet Home by Konami Kanata, ages 8–12: 12 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Bunny vs Monkey by Jamie Smart, ages 8–12: 12 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, ages 8–12: 3 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Berrybrook Middle School by Svetlana Chmakova, ages 10+: 6 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Click by Kayla Miller, ages 8–12: 7 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Cleopatra in Space by Mike Maihack, ages 8–12: 6 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- 5 Worlds by Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel; art by Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller and Boya Sun, ages 8–12: 5 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Smile, Sisters and Guts by Raina Telgemeier, ages 8–12: 3 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Sunny by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm, ages 8–12: 6 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham, ages 9–13: 3 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke, ages 9–13: 3 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Lightfall by Tim Probert, ages 8–12: 4 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell (with co-writers), ages 9–12: 3 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Sanity & Tallulah by Molly Brooks, ages 8–12: 3 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Stuntboy by Jason Reynolds and Raúl the Third, ages 8–12: 2 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Space Boy by Stephen McCranie, ages 10+: 23 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.
- Ham Helsing by Rich Moyer, ages 8–12: 3 books in order, with a checklist that the Series Challenge counts.