One Crazy Summer

by Rita Williams-Garcia

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is assigned in US schools at grades 5–8, with a Lexile measure of 750L. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where One Crazy Summer is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Lexile
750L
Grade range
Grades 5–8
Difficulty for grade
Within the grade 4–5 band (740–1010L)
Age range
Ages 10–13
Pages
218
Reading time
about 4 hours (est.)
First published
2010
Genre
Historical Fiction
ISBN-13
9780060760892

Reading difficulty: At 750L, One Crazy Summer falls within the typical 740–1010L text-complexity range for 5th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge.

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About this book

In the summer of 1968, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters travel from Brooklyn to Oakland to meet the mother who abandoned them — and find themselves swept into a Black Panther summer camp. Rita Williams-Garcia's Newbery Honor novel braids family, identity, and the civil-rights era. A common grades 5-8 text.

Why widely assigned

This Historical Fiction title, reads at middle-grade prose complexity, typically at grades 5–8. Written in the 2010s; pairs with curriculum units on family and race; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

family · race · civil rights · mother-daughter relationship

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is One Crazy Summer?
One Crazy Summer is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 5–8, with a Lexile measure of 750L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
What is the Lexile level of One Crazy Summer?
One Crazy Summer has a Lexile measure of 750L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.
How long does it take to read One Crazy Summer?
It takes about 4 hours to read One Crazy Summer (218 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 240 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
Is One Crazy Summer hard to read for 5th grade?
At 750L, One Crazy Summer falls within the typical 740–1010L text-complexity range for 5th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.
What curricula assign One Crazy Summer?
One Crazy Summer appears on reading lists for Common Core State Standards (ELA). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.

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
750L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
Grade band
Grades 5–8 — 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
Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: summer.