7 Great Tween Books from National Geographic Kids

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You know what it’s called when your kid is too old for toys but too young for cash? TWEENVILLE. TWEENDOM. THE ERA OF TWEEN.

Luckily at nine years old, Evan does still want a few toys (hello, LEGO) but mainly because he’s pretty up to date on all of his video games. Hopefully you’ve gotten the “big” presents picked out and secured for your kids. And if you, too, have a tween, you probably didn’t have to worry about the Hatchimal craze this year.

But the one good thing about being a tween is that they start to develop a love of reading. You might be looking for some high quality books to add under the tree. If you have a kid like mine, you might need a variety as well. He likes Harry Potter books but he also likes shorter, lighter reading. And he really likes nonfiction.

That’s where National Geographic Kids comes in with their amazing assortment of tween content that is educational, fun-to-read, and great for short bursts of reading. And if you don’t believe me, you can hear straight my from 9 (almost 10) year old’s mouth. Along with mine.

In case you missed anything we showed you in the video or you just couldn’t take our witty banter all the way to the end, here are the 7 books we’d love for you to check out.

1. National Geographic Kids National Parks Guide USA Centennial Edition

It’s a big year for us because not only is Evan in 4th grade (which means he gets free admission to all the National Parks through the Every Kid in a Park program) but it’s still the Centennial for the National Park System! Two great reasons to visit and this book, filled with color photos, information on animals, fascinating lists, fun facts, maps, cool things to do, conservation tips, and much more, is your trusted guide to America’s majestic National Parks.

2. National Geographic Kids Almanac 2017

Want information presented with incredible photos, tons of fun facts, crafts, activities, and fascinating features about animals, science, nature, technology, and more? Then this is your books. A little bit of everything including a new special “17 Facts for 2017” feature in every chapter.

3. Weird But True 8

Yes, there have been 7 predecessors to this book. Probably more if you count the specialty Weird But True books. But my son can’t get enough of them and frankly, neither can I. When a stack of Nat Geo books come in, this is the first one Evan grabs and starts reading. If you haven’t tried one, I guarantee your kids will love it.

4. Famous Fails!

You know what’s an important lesson to teach kids? It’s that you have to go through a lot of failures before you reach success. This book is a prime example of many famous fails from early product designs to the Leaning Tower of Pisa! This fun book of quirky failures and famous flops will keep kids laughing while they learn the importance of messing up in order to get it right.

5. Ultimate Oceanpedia

This is the coffee table book kids would have if they had coffee tables. It’s especially near and dear to me because I received The Ocean World by Jacques Cousteau as a teen. It inspired my love and fascination of all things ocean and I’m hoping this will do the same for Evan (he’s already a huge fan of sharks) since it covers ocean life as well as the geology of the ocean.

6. How Things Work

As I mentioned in the video (you did watch the video, right?), this book is perfect for my budding engineer/entrepreneur, or engineering entrepreneur, or entrepreneurial engineer. Actually, it’s just a really cool book about how things work. I’m pretty sue we’re both going to learn a few things as we plow through this book together. Bonus: it has special sections for you to try some of the concepts at home!

7. Tales from the Arabian Nights

Just when you think there are no more classic stories to be told, you remember that there are all of these Arabian folk tales that your kid doesn’t even know about. This book shares stories of Arabian folk tales from One Thousand and One Nights and other collections, including those of Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. When I mentioned the name Aladdin, the light bulb went off for Evan and he’s suddenly interested in bedtime stories again!

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Whether you’re shopping for Christmas or Hanukkah or a gift for any time of the year, National Geographic Kids books are treasured for many years to come. Our shelves are overflowing but we always go back to them again and again!

I received complimentary copies of all the books above as part of the National Geographic Kids Insider program. All of the links above are affiliate links but you can also find all of these books as well as tons of other great gift ideas at the National Geographic Store.