Cress Watercress
by Gregory Maguire
Audible trial: new members only. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.
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).
Cress Watercress by Gregory Maguire is assigned in US schools at grades 4–5. 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 Cress Watercress 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 4–5
- Age range
- Ages 9–11
- Pages
- 225
- Reading time
- about 4h 10m (est.)
- First published
- 2022
- Genre
- Middle Grade Animal Fantasy
- ISBN-13
- 9781536224559
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook
As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you. Pricing, Prime, and trial terms shown on Amazon.
About this book
After her father fails to return from gathering honey, Cress the rabbit and her family move to a rundown oak and start over; an illustrated woodland novel from the author of Wicked.
Similar grade-level books
- I Have a DreamMartin Luther King Jr.I Have a DreamMartin Luther King Jr.
The Million Dollar ShotDan Gutman
HatchetGary Paulsen · 1020L
Charlotte's WebE.B. White · 680L
See all books like Cress Watercress→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Middle Grade Animal Fantasy title, typically at grades 4–5. Written in the 2020s; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Where this book is assigned
South Dakota Prairie Bud, Bloom & Pasque Awards
- recommended·4th grade · South Dakotasource: South Dakota Library Association — Children's Book Award Nominations 2024-2025 (Prairie Bud PreK-1 · Prairie Bloom 2-3 · Prairie Pasque 4-5)
- recommended·5th grade · South Dakotasource: South Dakota Library Association — Children's Book Award Nominations 2024-2025 (Prairie Bud PreK-1 · Prairie Bloom 2-3 · Prairie Pasque 4-5)
Was this page helpful?
Common questions
- What grade level is Cress Watercress?
- Cress Watercress is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–5. 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 Cress Watercress?
- It takes about 4h 10m to read Cress Watercress (225 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 Cress Watercress?
- Cress Watercress appears on reading lists for South Dakota Prairie Bud, Bloom & Pasque Awards. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Cress Watercress banned in schools?
- Cress Watercress 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 4–5 — 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.