Cover of Countdown to Yesterday

Countdown to Yesterday

by Shirley Marr

Countdown to Yesterday by Shirley Marr is assigned in US schools at grades 3–6. 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 Countdown to Yesterday 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 3–6
Age range
Ages 8–12
Pages
226
Reading time
about 4h 10m (est.)
First published
2024
Genre
Middle Grade Fiction
ISBN-13
9781835404102
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About this book

When his world is turned upside down, a boy becomes convinced he can travel back in time to the day before everything changed. Shirley Marr's middle-grade novel explores friendship, change, and learning to move forward. Selected for the 2026 Children's Sequoyah Book Award Master List (grades 3-5), chosen each year by the Oklahoma Library Association.

Why widely assigned

This Middle Grade Fiction title, typically at grades 3–6. Written in the 2020s; pairs with curriculum units on friendship and change; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

friendship · change · family

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Countdown to Yesterday?
Countdown to Yesterday is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–6. 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 Countdown to Yesterday?
It takes about 4h 10m to read Countdown to Yesterday (226 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 250 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Countdown to Yesterday?
Countdown to Yesterday appears on reading lists for Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Countdown to Yesterday banned in schools?
Countdown to Yesterday 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 Countdown to Yesterday explore?
Central themes in Countdown to Yesterday include friendship, change, family. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.

Why this book is on this list

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 3–6 — 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.