"I'm bored!" is a dreaded phrase for most parents. I prefer to view such a situation as an opportunity. Precocious tween readers often have difficulty finding books that are challenging and appealing at the same time. While it's impossible to cover the entire range of interests and reading levels that represent this group of readers, a wide variety of reading materials, strategically scattered around the house, might place the right volume into the right hands. It's important for children to read a variety of books. This post recommends a number of genres, including works of historical fiction, thrillers, dystopian fiction, graphic novels, horror, fantasy , mystery, science fiction and plain old realistic fiction. I can also highly recommend a work of nonfiction, Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun, especially in cases of the aforementioned emergency!

I firmly believe that adults need to actively acknowledge tweens budding preoccupations with shifting alliances among friends, self-image, popularity, independence, self-determination, as well as the complexities of family relations. The following titles might offer some measure of clarity on the issues that are of great importance to tweens:

Growing up fast can become entirely overwhelming for a tween. The following titles will offer temporary escape from reality:

By shifting young readers attention away from their immediate surroundings, great books have the potential of introducing children to the incredible diversity of human experiences. Diverse books will encourage readers of all ages to imagine the lives of those who were born into different circumstances , geographic locales and time periods. The following titles will offer kids an insight into other cultures , historical eras and worldwide locations:

The books that we  subtly shape our understanding of the world. Most teens and tweens that I know are very eager to be independent and vehemently dislike prescriptive advice of any kind.That does not mean that they will ignore unattended books, conspicuously left around the house. You may check out up to 50 items at a time with your NYPL Card.

While it's long, this list is not intended to be comprehensive. Please don't hesitate to comment or recommend an additional title.

For further reading suggestions visit our dedicated blog channels:

• Stuff for the Teen Age
• Children's Literature@NYPL