
Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam
by Cynthia Kadohata · Grades 6–8
Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata is on US reading lists at grades 6–8. It appears on 4 lists: 4 book-award lists, across 4 states. Every citation below links to the primary source.
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Among the most widely assigned — 5 curriculum lists · 4 states
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 Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam 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
- Grade range
- Grades 6–8
- Listed most for
- 6th grade (5 of 19 cited list rows)
- Pages
- 336
- Reading time
- about 6h 10m (est.)
- First published
- 2008
- ISBN-13
- 9781439107096
Sources: grade range from the cited lists below, last checked 2026-09-24; pages and year from our catalog record (sources); reading time is an estimate at 250 words a minute.
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About this book
Book facts and sources (4)
- Award won
- William Allen White Children's Book Award, 2010 (source: Wikipedia)
- On award reading lists
- California Young Reader Medal (source: californiayoungreadermedal.org)
- Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award (source: sites.google.com)
- Nebraska Golden Sower Award (source: nlc.nebraska.gov)
- Catalog record
- First published 2008 · 336 pages (edition lengths vary) (source: how we source book data)
Similar grade-level books
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee · 870L
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The GiverLois Lowry · 760L
The OutsidersS.E. Hinton · 750L
See all books like Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Where this book is recommended
Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · Alabamasource: Winner, Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award 2008, grades 4-6. Given by the Alabama State Department of Education, Library Media. Winner (not nominee); verified against the award archive 2026-09-04.
- recommended·5th grade · Alabamasource: Winner, Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award 2008, grades 4-6. Given by the Alabama State Department of Education, Library Media. Winner (not nominee); verified against the award archive 2026-09-04.
- recommended·6th grade · Alabamasource: Winner, Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award 2008, grades 4-6. Given by the Alabama State Department of Education, Library Media. Winner (not nominee); verified against the award archive 2026-09-04.
California Young Reader Medal
- recommended·3rd grade · Californiasource: California Young Reader Medal past winners, 2011 winner (Middle School/Junior High)
- recommended·4th grade · Californiasource: California Young Reader Medal past winners, 2011 winner (Middle School/Junior High)
- recommended·5th grade · Californiasource: California Young Reader Medal past winners, 2011 winner (Middle School/Junior High)
- recommended·6th grade · Californiasource: California Young Reader Medal past winners, 2011 winner (Middle School/Junior High)
- recommended·7th grade · Californiasource: California Young Reader Medal past winners, 2011 winner (Middle School/Junior High)
- recommended·8th grade · Californiasource: California Young Reader Medal past winners, 2011 winner (Middle School/Junior High)
Nebraska Golden Sower Award
- recommended·6th grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award past winners, 2010 winner (Novel)
- recommended·7th grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award past winners, 2010 winner (Novel)
- recommended·8th grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award past winners, 2010 winner (Novel)
- recommended·9th grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award past winners, 2010 winner (Novel)
William Allen White Children's Book Award
- recommended·6th grade · Kansassource: Kansas William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — winner list (grades 3-5 + 6-8 divisions) via Wikipedia — 2010 winner
- recommended·7th grade · Kansassource: Kansas William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — winner list (grades 3-5 + 6-8 divisions) via Wikipedia — 2010 winner
- recommended·8th grade · Kansassource: Kansas William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — winner list (grades 3-5 + 6-8 divisions) via Wikipedia — 2010 winner
William Allen White Children's Book Award
- recommended·6th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award winners (Emporia State University), via Wikipedia — 2010
- recommended·7th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award winners (Emporia State University), via Wikipedia — 2010
- recommended·8th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award winners (Emporia State University), via Wikipedia — 2010
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Common questions
- What grade level is Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam?
- Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam is listed for grades 6–8. It appears on 5 state book-award lists across 4 states, from grade 3 to grade 9. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam?
- It takes about 6h 10m to read Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam (336 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 370 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam?
- Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam appears on reading lists for Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award, California Young Reader Medal, Nebraska Golden Sower Award, and 1 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam banned in schools?
- Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam 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 6–8 — drawn from the state book-award lists citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 5 curricula on this site (see “Where recommended” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- On state book-award lists in 4 states (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: award-winner, book-club.