What grade level is Heart of a Champion?

Heart of a Champion is listed for grades 6–8. It appears on 2 state book-award lists across 2 states, from grade 6 to grade 9. Exact placement varies by school and district.

How long does it take to read Heart of a Champion?

It takes about 3h 40m to read Heart of a Champion (199 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 220 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.

What curricula assign Heart of a Champion?

Heart of a Champion appears on reading lists for Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania), Nebraska Golden Sower Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.

Is Heart of a Champion banned in schools?

Heart of a Champion 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 Heart of a Champion explore?

Central themes in Heart of a Champion include baseball, friendship, baseball, fiction, friendship, fiction.

Heart of a Champion

Name: Heart of a Champion
Availability: InStock
Author: Carl Deuker
ISBN: 9780316181662

by Carl Deuker · Grades 6–8 · Realistic Fiction

Heart of a Champion by Carl Deuker is on US reading lists at grades 6–8. It appears on 2 lists: 2 book-award lists, across 2 states. Every citation below links to the primary source.

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Before you buy: Ages 11–13 · Grades 6–8 · 199 pages. The button opens the hardcover edition (ISBN 9780316181662). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.

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Assigned across 2 curriculum lists · 2 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).

On reading-award lists:Nebraska Golden Sower Award Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania)

This page shows where Heart of a Champion 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
Age range: Ages 11–13
Pages: 199
Reading time: about 3h 40m (est.)
First published: 1993
Genre: Realistic Fiction
ISBN-13: 9780316181662

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 (2)

On award reading lists: Nebraska Golden Sower Award (source: nlc.nebraska.gov)
Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) (source: pyrcapsla.wixsite.com)
Catalog record: First published 1993 · 199 pages (edition lengths vary) (source: how we source book data)

Similar grade-level books

See all books like Heart of a Champion→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why it is assigned

This realistic fiction title is typically read at grades 6–8. Written in the 1990s; pairs with curriculum units on baseball and friendship; cited on 2 lists: 2 book-award lists.

Themes

baseball · friendship · baseball, fiction · friendship, fiction

Where this book is recommended

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Common questions

What grade level is Heart of a Champion?: Heart of a Champion is listed for grades 6–8. It appears on 2 state book-award lists across 2 states, from grade 6 to grade 9. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read Heart of a Champion?: It takes about 3h 40m to read Heart of a Champion (199 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 220 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Heart of a Champion?: Heart of a Champion appears on reading lists for Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania), Nebraska Golden Sower Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Heart of a Champion banned in schools?: Heart of a Champion 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 Heart of a Champion explore?: Central themes in Heart of a Champion include baseball, friendship, baseball, fiction, friendship, 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 6–8 — drawn from the state book-award lists citing this book.
Curriculum alignment: Cited in 2 curricula on this site (see “Where recommended” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence: On state book-award lists in 2 states (see citations above).
Removal / banning records: No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags: Tagged for: book-club.