Cover of Life on Mars

Life on Mars

by Jennifer Brown

Life on Mars by Jennifer Brown is assigned in US schools at grades 3–5. 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 Life on Mars 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 3–5
Pages
257
Reading time
about 4h 45m (est.)
First published
2014
ISBN-13
9781619632530
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About this book

Twelve-year-old Arcturus Betelgeuse Chambers comes from a family of stargazers and his quest to find life on other planets is unstoppable. But when Arty's family announces they're moving to Las Vegas, the City of Lights threatens to put an end to his stargazing dreams forever-especially when he has to stay with his scary next door neighbor while his parents look for a house. As it turns out, “Mr. Death” isn't terrifying at all-he's actually Cash Maddox, a bonafide astronaut! But when Cash falls ill, will Arty find the courage to complete his mission by himself? And might he actually prove, once and for all, that there is life on Mars? For fans of Frank Cottrell Boyce's Cosmic and Jack Gantos's Dead End in Norvelt comes a heartwarming story of true friendship-earthly or otherwise.

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Life on Mars?
Life on Mars is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–5. 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 Life on Mars?
It takes about 4h 45m to read Life on Mars (257 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 285 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Life on Mars?
Life on Mars appears on reading lists for William Allen White Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Life on Mars banned in schools?
Life on Mars 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

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 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: award-winner.