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Philosophy books for “tweens”?

Brian Leiter

A lawyer I know (who studied philosophy before law school) poses a good question:

Do you have any ideas for beginning philosophy books for tweens?  I should probably say books that exemplify a philosophical way of thinking. My son is 11 and I’d like to develop that ability in him.  And my 9-year-old daughter just the other day figured out there is no Santa Claus and no God so she might be ready, too.  I’m not sure I know of anything that might fit the bill, though. 

I did not.  Suggestions from readers?

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22 responses to “Philosophy books for “tweens”?”

  1. James Klagge

    Sophie's World: https://www.amazon.com/Sophies-World-History-Philosophy-Classics/dp/0374530718/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ZGQ2K6J3Z6DR&keywords=sophie%27s+world&qid=1567509584&s=gateway&sprefix=sophie%27s%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-1
    My children loved it.

    Reply
  2. James Klagge

    I read it aloud to them, as I did with many things.

    Reply
  3. David Morrice

    Steven Lukes, The Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat (Verso, 1995) is not intended specifically for young people, but it does provide an accessible, well written, engaging, fictional introduction to some important issues in political philosophy/thought.

    Reply
  4. GB

    I was turned on to philosophy at 17 when I found two illustrated histories of philosophy at a garage sale, both by Donald Palmer: Does the Center Hold? and Looking at Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter. I'm sure historians of philosophy would quibble about some things, but they quibble about everything.

    Reply
  5. Larry Rosenthal

    See
    https://www.philosophyforchildren.org/resources/lesson-plans/

    Reply
  6. Roger Albin

    Nigel Warburton's books.

    Reply
  7. James Klagge

    I second that one.

    Reply
  8. s. wallerstein

    Being 11 is very different from being 9. By age 11, as I recall, you can begin to read and understand books for adults. I know that Russell's History of Western Philosophy has been criticized for certain inaccuracies, but few writers on philosophy are as entertaining as Russell is. What's more, reading Russell, you develop a taste for reasoned argumentation because Russell argues with everyone he discusses and very few authors are as good at arguing as Russell is.

    Reply
  9. David Thacher

    Not a book, but the Australia Broadcasting Corporation's "Short & Curly" is pretty good, philosophically informed ethics podcast that's funny and accessible even for younger kids. The episodes on Snape and whether Pugs should exist are a good place to start.

    Reply
  10. IKL

    It isn't precisely a philosophy book, but I'd strongly recommend Martin Gardner's Aha! Gotcha: Paradoxes to Puzzle and Delight, which I read as a child. My 10 year old daughter also really likes it.

    Aha! Gotcha introduces a number of concepts in logic, probability and decision theory that come up in philosophy courses. It is entertaining and accessible, but more sophisticated than I realised at the time. Each puzzle is introduced by a cartoon with a more detailed write up that follows. I recall that I usually got the gist of things from the cartoon and when a bit older got even more out of reading the full text.

    Reply
  11. Sergio Tenenbaum

    The Phantom Tollbooth.

    Reply
  12. Nicole

    Plato and Co. have a whole series of books targeted for 6-10 year-olds for philosophy and history that I'm sure tweens could enjoy as well. Titles include "Professor Kant's Incredible Day," "Kierkegaard and the Mermaid," and "Mister Descartes and his Evil Genius."

    Also, you can't go wrong with some literary classics, like "The Picture of Dorian Grey" or "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," that aren't straight philosophy, but still present philosophical concepts in an entertaining manner.

    Reply
  13. Dan

    The Simpsons and Philosophy, The Matrix and Philosophy, Batman and Philosophy, etc. (the Popular Culture and Philosophy series).

    Reply
  14. Anonymous

    I second “Sophie’s World” – great book for young folks and even college students!

    Reply
  15. Peter Wendt

    Poirier, Tiffany. Q is for Question: an ABC of Philosophy.
    de Heer, Margaret. Philosophy: A Discovery in Comics (also, companion volumes on religion, science, and love).
    The Philosophy Book (and others in the series) from D&K Media.
    Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie’s World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy.

    Reply
  16. AS

    This is very readable with a lot of pictures and illustrations:

    https://www.amazon.com/Story-Philosophy-Introduction-Greatest-Thinkers/dp/1465445641/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1CC3NTO1MAP85&keywords=the+story+of+philosophy+by+bryan+magee&qid=1567547425&s=gateway&sprefix=the+story+of+philoso%2Caps%2C182&sr=8-1

    Reply
  17. Matt

    Not that 9 or 11 year old kids _need_ cartoon books, but I really liked this, and think kids those ages could enjoy it, too, and profit from it:

    https://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Speaks-Nature-Chih-chung-Tsai/dp/0691008825

    (I'm no expert on Daoism, to say the least, but my understanding is that it's a fairly faithful presentation of the texts in question, and lots of fun, and likely to spark good philosophical discussion and thought.)

    Reply
  18. NH

    This book got me hooked when I was 12 or 13: https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22817626243&searchurl=an%3Drichard%2Bosborne%26sortby%3D17%26tn%3Dphilosophy%2Bbeginners&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title15

    I wouldn't say it exemplifies a philosophical way of thinking, but it's certainly entertaining and got me to curious enough about philosophy to end up pursuing a career in it.

    Reply
  19. Jim

    There's an excellent book by Jean-Luc Nancy — *God, Justice, Love, Beauty: Four Little Dialogues* intended for children and young teenagers; even better are Walter Benjamin's lectures for young people available in translation in *Radio Benjamin*. Both happily exemplify a 'philosophical way of thinking' rather than any more programmatic history of ideas or Great Thinkers.

    I also reckon young people would probably enjoy thinking about some of the problems and paradoxes in Roy Sorensen's lovely books (eg *Seeing Dark Things*) — probably too difficult to read through, but talking through some of the wilder concepts there with a kid would be a lot of fun.

    Reply
  20. David Y.

    Here's a third vote for Steven Lukes. He also has the shorter "Five Fables on Human Rights," which has something of the same flavor as Caritat with much less commitment.

    Certain short stories come to mind, e.g. LeGuin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas."

    By age 12, I was enjoying the more accessible dialogues of Plato, and that was in the rather antiquated Jowett translations. Surely more modern translations would make them more suitable for younger readers. Don't start with Euthyphro.

    Jo Walton's trilogy beginning with The Just City are YA novels that engage reasonably seriously, given the intended age range, with philosophical ideas, mainly Plato.

    I've joked that at age 14-18 or so literary minded young men encounter either Nietzsche or Rand. The results can be insufferable either way, but on balance Nietzsche's clearly the only real philosopher of the pair and so a better direction to steer in.

    Reply
  21. David B. Auerbach

    Raymond Smullyan's logic and philosophy books were a godsend to me as a child.

    What is the Name of This Book? is an excellent introduction to Boolean logic, with some philosophical content as well. Alice in Puzzleland and The Lady or the Tiger are strong as well. His others are a bit more advanced; whenever I read the name "Godel" as a 10 year old, I knew it was time to give up on the problems.

    This Book Needs No Title is a very accessible introduction to philosophical thinking, with a mixture of analytic philosophy, Daoism, and silly humor.

    Reply
  22. Martha

    Out of print but excellent: "Philosophy Rocks" by Stephen Law.

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