Cover of A Family Apart

A Family Apart

by Joan Lowery Nixon

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Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 1 state

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

On reading-award lists:Virginia Readers' Choice

A Family Apart by Joan Lowery Nixon is assigned in US schools at grades 6–8. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where A Family Apart is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 6–8
Age range
Ages 11–13
Pages
162
Reading time
about 3 hours (est.)
First published
1987
Genre
Realistic Fiction
ISBN-13
9780440226765

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

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About this book

When their widowed mother can no longer support them, six siblings are sent on the orphan train by the Children's Aid Society of New York City to live with farm families in Missouri in 1860.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like A Family Apart→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Realistic Fiction title, typically at grades 6–8. Written in the 1980s; pairs with curriculum units on family, fiction and family, juvenile literature; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

family, fiction · family, juvenile literature · foster home care · brothers and sisters

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is A Family Apart?
A Family Apart is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 6–8. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
How long does it take to read A Family Apart?
It takes about 3 hours to read A Family Apart (162 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 180 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign A Family Apart?
A Family Apart appears on reading lists for Virginia Readers' Choice. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is A Family Apart banned in schools?
A Family Apart does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
What themes does A Family Apart explore?
Central themes in A Family Apart include family, fiction, family, juvenile literature, foster home care, brothers and sisters. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 6–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: book-club.

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