Cover of How to Steal a Dog

How to Steal a Dog

by Barbara O'Connor · Grades 3–5

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor is on US reading lists at grades 3–5. It appears on 3 lists: 3 book-award lists, across 3 states. Every citation below links to the primary source.

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Before you buy: Grades 3–5 · 170 pages. The button opens the paperback edition (ISBN 9780545154420). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.

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Widely assigned — 4 curriculum lists · 3 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:South Carolina Children's Book AwardWilliam Allen White Children's Book AwardWilliam Allen White Children's Book AwardYoung Hoosier Book Award

This page shows where How to Steal a Dog 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 3–5
Pages
170
Reading time
about 3h 5m (est.)
First published
2007
ISBN-13
9780545154420

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 (3)
Award won
  • William Allen White Children's Book Award, 2010 (source: Wikipedia)
On award reading lists
Catalog record
First published 2007 · 170 pages (edition lengths vary) (source: how we source book data)

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Where this book is recommended

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Common questions

What grade level is How to Steal a Dog?
How to Steal a Dog is listed for grades 3–5. It appears on 4 state book-award lists across 3 states. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read How to Steal a Dog?
It takes about 3h 5m to read How to Steal a Dog (170 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 185 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign How to Steal a Dog?
How to Steal a Dog appears on reading lists for South Carolina Children's Book Award, William Allen White Children's Book Award, Young Hoosier Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is How to Steal a Dog banned in schools?
How to Steal a Dog 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 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 3–5 — drawn from the state book-award lists citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 4 curricula on this site (see “Where recommended” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
On state book-award lists in 3 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.

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