Books For 10-12 Year Olds Novels & Stories

"You should read more books. Ellie. Books are like ladders of progress for werewolves." "Oh yeah? Do they also include 'XX Bedtime Stories', 'One Hundred Thousand Whys' and 'Those Mysteries of the Universe You Don't Know'?" "What's that supposed to mean, Ellie?" I ask. She picks one of the books I got her. "Jack and the Beanstalk? What nineteen-year-old girl reads childish folktales anymore?" "That's relatable to our legend, Ellie," Chris calmly says. "But not to mine," she protests. "Thanks, but it just isn't what I was expecting."

“Whatever this is. Fantasy? Romance? Giant doorstops with dragons on the cover?” I gasped dramatically. “Did you just insult The Name of the Wind?” “I have no idea what that is,” he admitted with zero shame. “But I’m willing to be educated.” I grabbed his sleeve and tugged him toward the shelves. “You seriously don’t read fiction? At all?” “Not unless you count playbooks,” he said, trailing after me. “I’m more of a highlights-and-scouting-reports kind of guy.” “That’s tragic.” I ran my fingers along the spines of well-worn books, pulling one free. “Okay, this, this was my favorite when I was ten. Anne of Green Gables.”

I whisper back, and Lily nods like she understands exactly what I mean. During reading time, I discovered that Oakwood Academy has more books than I've ever seen in one place. There are books about dolphins and princesses and families from all over the world. When Mrs. Peterson asks us to pick our favorites, I choose three: one about a little girl who saves her family from a scary dragon, one about dolphins who protect their pod from sharks, and one about a grandmother who teaches her granddaughter about magic. "Those are excellent choices, Emma," Mrs. Peterson says. "Do you like to read about families and protecting people?"

—Flashback— “Bronx, there’s a monster in my closet. Maybe it’s a witch.” I peek into his room. He’s reading a book. I bet it doesn’t have pictures. He says books with pictures are little kid books. I like books with pictures though. Maybe when I’m ten like him, I won’t like picture books anymore? That sounds boring. I’ll like picture books forever. “There’s no monster or witch in your closet.” He keeps reading. “It’s your imagination.”

The bookshelf was just as tall as Andrew so he could easily access the books there. The bookshelf had all sorts of books, ranging from fictional novels to nonfictional novels, to educational novels and textbooks. Her eyes caught titles like; The Redwall series by Brian Jacques, Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and a lot more. Even the Encyclopedia was in his bookshelf. And there was also some novels on the basis of business and finance. The book the lad was currently reading was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

I watch amused as her forehead creases, she’s thinking hard and the smile as she takes the copy of Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Ghosts. “I like the cover.” Her eyes are bright and full of curiosity. “Thank you,” mouths the mother as the girl starts going through the illustrations on the back. “Say goodbye to Ms. Rebecca.” “Goodbye, and thank you, Ms. Rebecca.” She runs ahead clutching her new favorite toy for the next couple of days. My best customers these days are the small children that every other day for reading time. We sit in a circle and grab a few books to read out loud. Right now we are reading together Argh! There’s a Skeleton Inside You! and they are loving it. The children's section

The kind meant for older kids but that August had started gravitating toward because picture books didn't have enough words. "This one is about a robot who wants to be an astronaut." Carter held up the first book. "And this one is about deep sea creatures. Real ones, not made up. And this one—" He pulled out a thick hardcover. "This one is about how bridges are built. It has diagrams." August's eyes went huge. He took the bridge book with both hands like Carter had given him something precious. Opened to the first page where there was indeed a detailed diagram of bridge architecture. "This is mine? To keep?"

Stopped. Walked in. A kid, maybe twenty, stood behind the counter, staring at his phone. "Do you have books for teenagers?" He looked up. "Like, Young Adult?" "I don't know. Sixteen-year-olds." "Yeah. YA section's in the back." I walked to the back. Found shelves labeled Young Adult Fiction. Pulled out a book at random. Read the back. Something about dragons. Shoved it back in. Pulled out another. Read the back.

In as much as I'm ready to protect my son, I don't know how to wipe down that one incident down. It was in a small community center just across town. Rows and rows of books filled the room. Derrick was immediately lost between shelves, holding up colorful titles with wide eyes. "Mom! Aunt Lila! Look! Dinosaurs and Space Explorers in one book!" "Get it," Ava laughed, grabbing it for him. "And maybe this one too? It's about wolves." "Like the ones in your stories?" he asked. She nodded. "Exactly." Derrick shrugged, already marching toward the fantasy book section like he owned the place. "Books are my best friends. They don't yell. They don't lie. They just tell stories."

Finally. She need not pretend any longer. In William’s arms was where she wanted to be. ~The End~ Look for these books in this series: Let's Fall in Love Again (book 2) Let's Create a Wonderland (book 3) Let's be Together (book 4)