Close to Famous
by Joan Bauer · Grades 4–7
Close to Famous by Joan Bauer is on US reading lists at grades 4–7. It appears on 1 list: the Schneider Family Book Award. Every citation below links to the primary source.
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Before you buy: Grades 4–7 · 167 pages. The button opens the print edition (ISBN 9781101513163). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.
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Assigned across 1 curriculum list
Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).
This page shows where Close to Famous is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
Reading level at a glance
Sources: grade range from the cited lists below, last checked 2026-06-10; pages and year from our catalog record (sources); reading time is an estimate at 250 words a minute.
Good fit for grade 4?
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Where this book is recommended
Schneider Family Book Award
- recommended·4th gradesource: Schneider Family Book Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2012 Schneider Family Book Award
- recommended·5th gradesource: Schneider Family Book Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2012 Schneider Family Book Award
- recommended·6th gradesource: Schneider Family Book Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2012 Schneider Family Book Award
- recommended·7th gradesource: Schneider Family Book Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2012 Schneider Family Book Award
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Common questions
- What grade level is Close to Famous?
- Close to Famous is listed for grades 4–7. It appears on 1 book-award list. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read Close to Famous?
- It takes about 3h 5m to read Close to Famous (167 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 185 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Close to Famous?
- Close to Famous appears on reading lists for Schneider Family Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Close to Famous banned in schools?
- Close to Famous 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.
Why this book is on this list
How we classifyHide
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 4–7 — drawn from the book-award lists citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where recommended” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: award-winner.