Cover of Nightjohn

Nightjohn

by Gary Paulsen

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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).

On reading-award lists:Young Hoosier Book Award

Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen is assigned in US schools at grades 6–8. 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 Nightjohn 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 6–8
Age range
Ages 11–13
Pages
92
Reading time
about 1h 40m (est.)
First published
1993
Genre
Historical Fiction
ISBN-13
9780440820727

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook

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About this book

Summary: Twelve-year-old Sarny's brutal life as a slave becomes even more dangerous when a newly arrived slave offers to teach her how to read.

Similar grade-level books

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

Why widely assigned

This Historical Fiction title, typically at grades 6–8. Written in the 1990s; pairs with curriculum units on slavery and manfred mann; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

slavery · manfred mann · freundschaft · sklave

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Nightjohn?
Nightjohn is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 6–8. 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 Nightjohn?
It takes about 1h 40m to read Nightjohn (92 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 100 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Nightjohn?
Nightjohn appears on reading lists for Young Hoosier Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Nightjohn banned in schools?
Nightjohn 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.
What themes does Nightjohn explore?
Central themes in Nightjohn include slavery, manfred mann, freundschaft, sklave. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.

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 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.

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