Here you will find some puberty books for 12 year olds that may (or may not) tell your child more than they are ready for.
By now, you may already have started to see some physical signs of puberty. Or your 12 year old might be a moody little beast lately. They may even have come from school with a note, advising you that they will be talking about puberty soon.
Books can making talking to a 12 year old about puberty, a lot easier. Some 12 year olds will still be happy to talk to you about puberty. Others won’t be! So handing them a book and saying ‘Here, read this. Ask me if you have any questions’, is a great start. You can find some ideas in this blogpost that might help with starting conversations with teenagers.
Puberty books for 12 year olds usually include information about sex. They may or may not be ready for it, but they are usually a little curious about the reproduction/conception side of things.
And in this sexualised world that we live in, it is better to provide your child with age -appropriate information than for them to go look for it themselves. When we were kids, we just went to the library. Today, kids turn to google and they often find stuff that no kid needs to see ie porn.
The puberty books for 12 year olds that are listed here will all include information about sex. If you think your child just isn’t ready for this, you can find some puberty books without sex here.
From my experience, it is usually you, the parent, who isn’t ready. Whereas the kids are fine with it. Kids will usually tell you if the book is a bit too mature for them. They’ll just read the bits that are relevant to them for that point in time, and return to the book for more information when they need it.
You’ll find the puberty books for 12 year olds broken into two parts ie boys (or males) and girls (or females).
Now, if you reach a point of overwhelm, then you’ll want to have a look at my list of favourite puberty books. These are the books that I always seem to be recommending to parents. CLICK HERE to look at the 10 best puberty books.
You can find more books about different topics in the main list of Sex Education Books for Children.
And if you find this list a little overwhelming, you might want to look at the age-appropriate list of sex education books.
You’ll find more information about puberty in my Puberty 101 page.
Puberty books for 12 year olds
NOTE: Before passing any book to your child or reading the book with your child, you should read it yourself first. I might think it is a great book for a certain age child or that the information is valuable, but you may disagree. You need to choose books that reflect your values and the messages you want your child to receive.
Books for boys
Here you will find some of the most popular boy puberty books for 12 year olds.
What’s Happening To Me (boy) by Alex Frith
Puberty Boy by Geoff Price
Growing Up For Boys (Usborne Books) by Alex Frith
The Boy’s Body Book by Kelli Dunham
My Body, My Self for Boys by Lynda Madaras
What’s happening to my body? Book for boys by Lynda Madaras
Secret Boys’ Business: Book Review
My Changing Body Book (Boys’ Edition): Book Review
I’m a Boy: Hormones by Shelley Metten
What’s Going on Down There by Karen Gravelle
Levi Sprocket: What’s in my Pocket by Debi Slinger
Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys (American Girl) by Cara Natterson
Guy Talk by Lizzie Cox
The (Nearly) Teenage Boy’s Guide to (Almost) Everything
A Guy’s Guide to Puberty by Michelle Mitchell
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Puberty – And Shouldn’t Be Googling: For Curious Boys by Morris Katz
My Body’s Changing: A Boy’s Guide to Growing Up by Anita Ganeri
Guy Talk. The ultimate body book for boys
Books for girls
Here you will find some of the most popular girl puberty books for 12 year olds.
The Care and Keeping of You 2 (American Girl) by Cara Natterson
Puberty Girl by Shushan Movsessian
Growing Up For Girls (Usborne Books) by Felicity Brooks
The Girl’s Body Book by Kelli Dunham
Is this normal? (American Girl)
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls by Lynda Madaras
Girl Stuff by Kaz Cooke
What’s happening to Me? (for Girls) by Susan Meredith
My Body, My Self for Girls by Lynda Madaras: Book Review
More Secret Girls’ Business: Book Review
My Changing Body Book (Girls’ Edition): Book Review
The Care and Keeping of Us (American Girl)
Have You Started Yet? by Ruth Thomson
I’m a Girl: Hormones by Shelley Metten
The Period Book by Karen Gravelle
Poppy Pretzel: Passage into Puberty by Debi Slinger
The guide, period. By Naama Bloom (HelloFlo)
Girl Talk by Lizzie Cox
Girlology: There’s Something New About You by Melissa Holmes & Trish Hutchison
Muslim Girl, Growing Up : A Guide to Puberty by Natalia Nabil
My Body’s Changing: A Girl’s Guide to Growing Up by Anita Ganeri
Books for all kids
Here you will find some of the most popular puberty books for all 12 year olds.
100+ Answers About Puberty by Interrelate
Puberty and Growing Up by Anna Claybourne
Will Puberty last my Whole Life? by Julie Metzger & Robert Lehman
Puberty: Coming to a Body Near You by Kerri Isham
What’s happening to me? by Peter Mayle: Book Review
The Puberty Book by Kelsey Powell and Wendy Darvill
Does This Happen to Everyone by Jan Von Holleben and Antje Helms
Nonnie Talks About Puberty by Mary Jo Podgurski
Changing You: A Guide to Body Changes and Sexuality by Gail Saltz
Willies: A Users Guide (ZEP) by Helene Bruller
Tell me: What children really want to know about bodies, sex and emotions by Katharina von der Gathen
When Boys and Girls Become Men and Women by Jorg Muller and Dagmar Geisler
You-ology. A puberty guide for every body
Puberty is Gross but Also really Awesome by Gina Loveless
You Know, Sex? Bodies, Gender, Puberty and Other Things by Cory Silverberg
What’s the Big Deal About Puberty
Growing Up. by Rachel Greener
These are some of the many sex education books suitable for 12 year olds, that have been written. As I find more, I will add them to this list. They are all really good books that they can read to find reliable and accurate information about love, sex and relationships.
Happy reading!