Cover of Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen

by Catherine Gilbert Murdock · Grades 9–12 · Realistic Fiction

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock is on US reading lists at grades 9–12. It appears on 1 list: the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania), across 1 state. Every citation below links to the primary source.

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Before you buy: Ages 14–17 · Grades 9–12 · 275 pages. The button opens the hardcover edition (ISBN 9780618683079). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.

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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).

This page shows where Dairy Queen 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 9–12
Age range
Ages 14–17
Pages
275
Reading time
about 5h 5m (est.)
First published
2006
Genre
Realistic Fiction
ISBN-13
9780618683079

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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See all books like Dairy Queen→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why it is assigned

This realistic fiction title is typically read at grades 9–12. Written in the 2000s; pairs with curriculum units on football and farm life; cited on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania).

Themes

football · farm life · football stories · football, fiction

Where this book is recommended

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Common questions

What grade level is Dairy Queen?
Dairy Queen is listed for grades 9–12. It appears on 1 state book-award list across 1 state. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read Dairy Queen?
It takes about 5h 5m to read Dairy Queen (275 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 305 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Dairy Queen?
Dairy Queen appears on reading lists for Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Dairy Queen banned in schools?
Dairy Queen 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. See the banned books list by state.
What themes does Dairy Queen explore?
Central themes in Dairy Queen include football, farm life, football stories, football, fiction.

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 9–12 — drawn from the state 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
On state book-award lists in 1 state (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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