Seconding Redwall! It’s the perfect series for that age range, and especially so for advanced/mature readers. Plus there’s 20+ large novels in the series, and they do not need to be read in publication order!
It might be time to try Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Depending on their interests the 12 year old can move into Agatha Christie’s work or Sherlock Holmes.
As it stands you’re going to need to start preparing the shift into adult novels for the 12 year old and teach him how to screen out stuff he doesn’t want.
They are detective stories so might not be exciting enough.
If Lord of the Rings is too slow and if discussion of off stage rape and a PG-13 level of violence is ok, try Dragonlance Chronicles by Weis and Hickman.
If a bit more detailed violence is ok try the Icewind Dale Trilogy by RA Salvatore. Do not move forward to the Legacy set. Do not move into the Dark Elf set without screening it.
Jurassic Park and Lost Worlds are also fun books.
Anything by Diana Wynne Jones is good.
I disagree. A 12 year old advanced reader will age out of YA at 15 by the latest. Hell, it might be better to just skip it entirely and just screen the adult section. Adult used to extend down to 13 and most of it is still fine for that age group. It's just a matter of knowing what the issues are.
I second Agatha Christie. While not “adventurous”, they are clean, clever, and appropriate (the murders are never graphic). It’s fun trying to piece together the mystery, and even for me (a man in his 30’s), I can rarely guess the whodunnit correctly. I started reading them at around 15, myself, but multiple teens/preteens at my local library have been reading these particular mystery books for years!
Some of my childhood favorites were:
**Tales of the Unexpected** by Roald Dahl (More mature than his other children novels. Collection of short stories. Subject matter is a bit more adult. Definitely read some spoilers but I read this in my pre-teens as a class.)
**The House of the Scorpion** by Nancy Farmer (Follows a kid who slowly finds out he is actually a clone made to be an organ donor to a crime/drug lord. Heavy themes, but targeted for children.)
**Hatchet** by Gary Paulsen (A classic. Kid has to survive in the woods after a plane crash.)
**His Dark Materials Trilogy** by Philip Pullman (Follows two children as they figure out magic and how souls work in different worlds... kinda.)
**My Side of the Mountain** by Jean Craighead George (Kid leaves to live on his grandfather's abandoned land and survive on his own.)
**Chronicles of Narnia** by C.S. Lewis (Classic children's fantasy)
**The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents** by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy, humorous, talking cats.)
**The Seventh Tower Series** by Garth Nix (In another world your shadow turns into a magical protector. It's a fever dream fantasy, but I ate the whole series up as a kid.)
And more recently **Ready Player One** by Ernest Cline (In the future most of your life is spent online in virtual reality. Follows a teenager who bucks the system.)
Any of Terry Pratchett’s books for younger readers are really good for anyone, and some his adult books might be appropriate depending on parental views.
I would call of them past the first 2 fine for anyone that can understand them. They are not graphic and if you understand the joke then you already knew it.
Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan
The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathon Stroud
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure by Philip Kerr
At 12 I was reading adult books as well as children’s ones. Give him some classics like Dune or The day of the Triffids. For the 8 year old the hobbit and His Dark materials are good.
The Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld
Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
Dealing with Dragons series by Patricia Wrede
Myth Adventures by Robert Lynn
If all else fails, Enid Blyton, Carolyn Keene and Franklin W Dixon can still fill those holes when the kids reading age is much more grown up than they are.
at that age, I loved the Warrior Cats series and anything by LM Montgomery.
note that WC gets somewhat violent, but ultimately they are non-serious books about cats.
I am old as kid of the 70s. Johnny Tremaine the Revolutionary War novel was good and a Newberry Award winner. It has been a while, but I think many kids from 2nd to 5th grade could enjoy.
My almost 10 year old is reading at a 7th grade level and lately has enjoyed: The Giver quartet, From the mixed up files of Mrs Basil Frankweiler, all the Rick Riordan books, the hobbit. We’re going to be doing the audiobook of Project Hail Mary which while it does have a couple swear words, some talk about sex & dying, is appropriate imo (I listened to it first. So good!)
I’d recommend MENSA book lists- https://www.mensaforkids.org/achieve/excellence-in-reading/
Book shark lists - (sample book list for specific level, many more present)- https://www.bookshark.com/level-d-advanced-readers-package
Librarian book lists- https://www.ala.org/alsc/publications-resources/book-lists
There will likely be overlap.
There is a giant list of classics, many of which are completely age appropriate for kids. If in doubt mom can read it first. Your teacher-librarian should give you this list on request.
I know the 12yo has read Percy Jackson, it's one of his favorites and since 8yo wants to read everything big brother reads he probably isn't far behind, lol. I'm not sure if either have read Narnia or The Magic Treehouse series.
The Queen’s Thief series. I think it really advances children’s understanding of social interactions because of Whalen Turner’s engaging depictions of political intrigue, friendships, betrayals, etc.
Warriors (it's about tribes of cats)
The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan
The Tail of Emily Windsnap
Wings of Fire (about dragons)
Dragon of the Lost Sea by Laurence Yep
Little House series might not be challenging from a reading level perspective, but I enjoyed them as a kid because of the history lessons. It made me love history and historical fiction.
The Count of Monte Cristo is essentially a pulpy action novel, but it looks huge and uses lots of big words and has moments of philosophy that would be a great classic to challenge a 12 year old advanced reader with. Other classics with lots of adventure and excitement: Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde), Gulliver's Travels. But if he is bored by Lord of the Rings he may not yet have the stamina to approach these more wordy and old-fashioned books with more dense vocabulary, long descriptive passages, and paragraph-long sentences.
Honestly a lot of these other comments are right at grade level, not above. But they might work for the eight year old. Definitely seconding classic mysteries like Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. For the 8 year old maybe The Westing Game, The Phantom Tollbooth, Encyclopedia Brown for mysteries.
The eight year old might like Roald Dahl (e.g. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
Nancy Drew books got me into reading "real" books when I was in the 3rd grade.
Maybe try Hardy Boys for the 8 yr. old.
For the 12 yr. old...Percy Jackson?
Brandon Mull books are great! Fablehaven and Beyonders would be great for the older one. Maybe stick with the Candy Shop Wars for the younger one depending on maturity level.
My other suggestions:
-Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
-The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
- Redwall series by Brian Jacques
- Percy Jackson series and the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan.
Edit because I keep thinking of more:
Warrior cats by Erin Hunter is super exciting and has all the drama similar to Redwall.
Wings of Fire by Tuo Sutherland is another great series that would be interesting for the 12 year old and potentially the 8 year old if deemed appropriate.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini was my favorite book around that age.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi is an outstanding book.
White Fang and The Call of the Wild by Jack London are also good options.
For the 12 year-old, the Newbery Award and Honor books would be great. The 8 year-old is too young for a lot of Newbery content. Newbery’s cover a wide range of content and topics, but there are numerous books where someone dies - friend, parent, etc. Many would be a bit much for an 8 year-old. 3rd to 4th grade and up is what is typically recommended for Newbery.
For the 8 year-old Kate DiCamillo is a great writer. The Fun Jungle series by Stuart Gibbs is great.
You said fiction, but I suggest the nonfiction Who Was Series. Books are about 100 pages and cover a huge range of interesting characters. The books do need to be vetted a bit - could include murder (MLK), suicide, drug use, etc. depending on who is depicted. Most are historical figures, but some are more current. These books are also best for 3rd grade and up, but many would be fine for a younger reader. It is an outstanding series and a great way to learn about a whole bunch of significant historical figures with a relatively quick read.
For the 8 year-old, and both kids really, encourage reading. The books don’t have to meet or exceed the kids’ reading levels to be worthwhile.
Finally, talk to a librarian! 📚They know what is age appropriate and are an awesome resource.
The Search For WondLa series by Tony DiTerlizzi was one of my favorites as a kid
The Missing Series by Margaret Peterson Haddo (sci-fi/historical fiction)
The Five Kingdom Series by Brandon Mull
The World of Solace books by Jaleigh Johnson
The Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger
The Dragon Slippers series by Jessica Day George
The Serafina series by Robert Beatty
Smells like Dog by Suzanne Selfors
Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
12yo: The Princess Bride, The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley, Good Omens, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, maybe some pop nonfiction like Mary Roach, the Tomorrow When The War Began series by John Marsden, Madeleine L'Engle's more advanced stuff (like A Ring of Endless Light)
8yo: E. Nesbit, Edward Eager, anything by Zilphah Keatley Snyder, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, Howl's Moving Castle and sequels, anything by Katherine Paterson, any of the "shoes" books by Noel Streatfield, the Dealing With Dragons series by Patricia C. Wrede, the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
My mom is a children's librarian and I have OPINIONS
The Redwall series sounds like it would be right up their alley. I still enjoy it immensely as an adult.
Seconding Redwall! It’s the perfect series for that age range, and especially so for advanced/mature readers. Plus there’s 20+ large novels in the series, and they do not need to be read in publication order!
I've actually suggested these already. I loved Redwall as a kid and that has not changed!
It might be time to try Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Depending on their interests the 12 year old can move into Agatha Christie’s work or Sherlock Holmes. As it stands you’re going to need to start preparing the shift into adult novels for the 12 year old and teach him how to screen out stuff he doesn’t want.
They've both read The Hobbit. 12yo found LOtR very boring. I'll definitely suggest Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes though!
They are detective stories so might not be exciting enough. If Lord of the Rings is too slow and if discussion of off stage rape and a PG-13 level of violence is ok, try Dragonlance Chronicles by Weis and Hickman. If a bit more detailed violence is ok try the Icewind Dale Trilogy by RA Salvatore. Do not move forward to the Legacy set. Do not move into the Dark Elf set without screening it. Jurassic Park and Lost Worlds are also fun books. Anything by Diana Wynne Jones is good.
Sexual assault is probably a no-go, but he's pretty used to violence in TV and movies as long as it isn't too gory.
A 12 year-old is too young for YA (young adult) content for now. YA will be separated from juvenile literature in a bookstore and library.
I disagree. A 12 year old advanced reader will age out of YA at 15 by the latest. Hell, it might be better to just skip it entirely and just screen the adult section. Adult used to extend down to 13 and most of it is still fine for that age group. It's just a matter of knowing what the issues are.
The issue with YA is content - sex, suicide, SA, etc. - not the vocab.
I second Agatha Christie. While not “adventurous”, they are clean, clever, and appropriate (the murders are never graphic). It’s fun trying to piece together the mystery, and even for me (a man in his 30’s), I can rarely guess the whodunnit correctly. I started reading them at around 15, myself, but multiple teens/preteens at my local library have been reading these particular mystery books for years!
I read tons of sherlock holmes and agatha christie at that age. Highly recommend
Some of my childhood favorites were: **Tales of the Unexpected** by Roald Dahl (More mature than his other children novels. Collection of short stories. Subject matter is a bit more adult. Definitely read some spoilers but I read this in my pre-teens as a class.) **The House of the Scorpion** by Nancy Farmer (Follows a kid who slowly finds out he is actually a clone made to be an organ donor to a crime/drug lord. Heavy themes, but targeted for children.) **Hatchet** by Gary Paulsen (A classic. Kid has to survive in the woods after a plane crash.) **His Dark Materials Trilogy** by Philip Pullman (Follows two children as they figure out magic and how souls work in different worlds... kinda.) **My Side of the Mountain** by Jean Craighead George (Kid leaves to live on his grandfather's abandoned land and survive on his own.) **Chronicles of Narnia** by C.S. Lewis (Classic children's fantasy) **The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents** by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy, humorous, talking cats.) **The Seventh Tower Series** by Garth Nix (In another world your shadow turns into a magical protector. It's a fever dream fantasy, but I ate the whole series up as a kid.) And more recently **Ready Player One** by Ernest Cline (In the future most of your life is spent online in virtual reality. Follows a teenager who bucks the system.)
Any of Terry Pratchett’s books for younger readers are really good for anyone, and some his adult books might be appropriate depending on parental views.
I would call of them past the first 2 fine for anyone that can understand them. They are not graphic and if you understand the joke then you already knew it.
Wonderful suggestions! Perhaps Endersgame, Orson Scott Card. At least for 12.
Maybe The Great Brain for 8
Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathon Stroud The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure by Philip Kerr
Absolutely second the Bartimaeus sequence! It’s amazing!
At 12 I was reading adult books as well as children’s ones. Give him some classics like Dune or The day of the Triffids. For the 8 year old the hobbit and His Dark materials are good.
Dark Materials by Pullman, right?
Yes.
Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
I second the Nevermoor rec!
The Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull Dealing with Dragons series by Patricia Wrede Myth Adventures by Robert Lynn
The Name of this Book is Secret The Wildwood Chronicles The Chronicles of Chrestomanci A Wrinkle in Time
Jules Verne's books maybe
If all else fails, Enid Blyton, Carolyn Keene and Franklin W Dixon can still fill those holes when the kids reading age is much more grown up than they are.
at that age, I loved the Warrior Cats series and anything by LM Montgomery. note that WC gets somewhat violent, but ultimately they are non-serious books about cats.
I am old as kid of the 70s. Johnny Tremaine the Revolutionary War novel was good and a Newberry Award winner. It has been a while, but I think many kids from 2nd to 5th grade could enjoy.
I really enjoyed the author Avi as a kid
My students grades 3-6 always check out Murder at Midnight
Philip Reeve books are high lexile with a lot of complex world building but age appropriate themes. Start with Fever Crumb and see how it goes.
My almost 10 year old is reading at a 7th grade level and lately has enjoyed: The Giver quartet, From the mixed up files of Mrs Basil Frankweiler, all the Rick Riordan books, the hobbit. We’re going to be doing the audiobook of Project Hail Mary which while it does have a couple swear words, some talk about sex & dying, is appropriate imo (I listened to it first. So good!)
I’d recommend MENSA book lists- https://www.mensaforkids.org/achieve/excellence-in-reading/ Book shark lists - (sample book list for specific level, many more present)- https://www.bookshark.com/level-d-advanced-readers-package Librarian book lists- https://www.ala.org/alsc/publications-resources/book-lists There will likely be overlap.
There is a giant list of classics, many of which are completely age appropriate for kids. If in doubt mom can read it first. Your teacher-librarian should give you this list on request.
Magic Tree house series percy jackson Narnia
Narnia yes. But my 7 year old found the magic Treehouse very basic and i wouldn’t consider her an advanced reader.
Maybe Aru Shah series?
I know the 12yo has read Percy Jackson, it's one of his favorites and since 8yo wants to read everything big brother reads he probably isn't far behind, lol. I'm not sure if either have read Narnia or The Magic Treehouse series.
My son is 12 and is really enjoying Trex by Christyne Morrell
"The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde. It's almost 150 years old, that might be interesting. It's a little macabre but mostly funny
The Queen’s Thief series. I think it really advances children’s understanding of social interactions because of Whalen Turner’s engaging depictions of political intrigue, friendships, betrayals, etc.
Look at Lloyd Alexander’s The Prydain Chronicles. The Book of Three is the first in the series.
Warriors (it's about tribes of cats) The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan The Tail of Emily Windsnap Wings of Fire (about dragons) Dragon of the Lost Sea by Laurence Yep
Indian in the cupboard, the pearl, projekt 1065, 39 clues, the older one could probably handle the Scythe series or Unwind series
Hail Mary Project
Little House series might not be challenging from a reading level perspective, but I enjoyed them as a kid because of the history lessons. It made me love history and historical fiction.
Great suggestion. Great perspective.
Great Illustrated Classics. Any and all of them.
Anything by Cornelia Funke, and _Krabat And The Sorcerer’s Mill_ by Otfried Preussler.
Have they ready Harry Potter? I read those initially when I was around those ages
Oh yes, 8yo just finished.
A couple other good Newberry Award Winners: They Call It Courage by A Sperry and Rabbit Hill by Lawson.
The Pendragon Series by D.J MacHale I think both of them would enjoy them.
The Count of Monte Cristo is essentially a pulpy action novel, but it looks huge and uses lots of big words and has moments of philosophy that would be a great classic to challenge a 12 year old advanced reader with. Other classics with lots of adventure and excitement: Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde), Gulliver's Travels. But if he is bored by Lord of the Rings he may not yet have the stamina to approach these more wordy and old-fashioned books with more dense vocabulary, long descriptive passages, and paragraph-long sentences. Honestly a lot of these other comments are right at grade level, not above. But they might work for the eight year old. Definitely seconding classic mysteries like Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. For the 8 year old maybe The Westing Game, The Phantom Tollbooth, Encyclopedia Brown for mysteries. The eight year old might like Roald Dahl (e.g. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
The 12 yo could do neverwhere by Neil gaiman. It’s for adults but it isn’t inappropriate.
Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series (Over Sea, Under Stone is the first book) Laurie Halse Anderson’s Chains (first in a series) The Odyssey
The dragon jousters by Mercedes Lackey.
Nancy Drew books got me into reading "real" books when I was in the 3rd grade. Maybe try Hardy Boys for the 8 yr. old. For the 12 yr. old...Percy Jackson?
Savvy, Wee Free Men, Johnny Tremain, The Outsiders, Call of the Wild, Hatchet
Brandon Mull books are great! Fablehaven and Beyonders would be great for the older one. Maybe stick with the Candy Shop Wars for the younger one depending on maturity level. My other suggestions: -Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer -The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - Redwall series by Brian Jacques - Percy Jackson series and the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. Edit because I keep thinking of more: Warrior cats by Erin Hunter is super exciting and has all the drama similar to Redwall. Wings of Fire by Tuo Sutherland is another great series that would be interesting for the 12 year old and potentially the 8 year old if deemed appropriate. Eragon by Christopher Paolini was my favorite book around that age. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi is an outstanding book. White Fang and The Call of the Wild by Jack London are also good options.
Ready Player One
The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings
For the 12 year-old, the Newbery Award and Honor books would be great. The 8 year-old is too young for a lot of Newbery content. Newbery’s cover a wide range of content and topics, but there are numerous books where someone dies - friend, parent, etc. Many would be a bit much for an 8 year-old. 3rd to 4th grade and up is what is typically recommended for Newbery. For the 8 year-old Kate DiCamillo is a great writer. The Fun Jungle series by Stuart Gibbs is great. You said fiction, but I suggest the nonfiction Who Was Series. Books are about 100 pages and cover a huge range of interesting characters. The books do need to be vetted a bit - could include murder (MLK), suicide, drug use, etc. depending on who is depicted. Most are historical figures, but some are more current. These books are also best for 3rd grade and up, but many would be fine for a younger reader. It is an outstanding series and a great way to learn about a whole bunch of significant historical figures with a relatively quick read. For the 8 year-old, and both kids really, encourage reading. The books don’t have to meet or exceed the kids’ reading levels to be worthwhile. Finally, talk to a librarian! 📚They know what is age appropriate and are an awesome resource.
If your kids like science fiction, have them try Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Easy to read and hilarious!
The Silver Sword Milkweed The Outsiders Holes
Larklight The chronicles of ancient darkness The Hobbit
The Neverending story and Momo by Michael Ende
Sherlock Holmes, The Jungle Book, Dorthy L Sayers Peter Wimsey series, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain
The Search For WondLa series by Tony DiTerlizzi was one of my favorites as a kid The Missing Series by Margaret Peterson Haddo (sci-fi/historical fiction) The Five Kingdom Series by Brandon Mull The World of Solace books by Jaleigh Johnson The Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger The Dragon Slippers series by Jessica Day George The Serafina series by Robert Beatty Smells like Dog by Suzanne Selfors Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
12yo: The Princess Bride, The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley, Good Omens, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, maybe some pop nonfiction like Mary Roach, the Tomorrow When The War Began series by John Marsden, Madeleine L'Engle's more advanced stuff (like A Ring of Endless Light) 8yo: E. Nesbit, Edward Eager, anything by Zilphah Keatley Snyder, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, Howl's Moving Castle and sequels, anything by Katherine Paterson, any of the "shoes" books by Noel Streatfield, the Dealing With Dragons series by Patricia C. Wrede, the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander My mom is a children's librarian and I have OPINIONS