
Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero
by Patricia McCormick · Grades 3–5
Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero by Patricia McCormick is on US reading lists at grades 3–5. It appears on 1 list: the Rhode Island Children's Book Award, across 1 state. Every citation below links to the primary source.
Before you buy: Ages 8–11 · Grades 3–5 · 40 pages. The button opens the hardcover edition (ISBN 9780062292599). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.
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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).
This page shows where Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero 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
- Age range
- Ages 8–11
- Pages
- 40
- Reading time
- about 45 minutes (est.)
- ISBN-13
- 9780062292599
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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Where this book is recommended
Rhode Island Children's Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Rhode Islandsource: Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services (OLIS) — Rhode Island Children's Book Award winners and nominees 1991-2025 — 2019 winner
- recommended·4th grade · Rhode Islandsource: Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services (OLIS) — Rhode Island Children's Book Award winners and nominees 1991-2025 — 2019 winner
- recommended·5th grade · Rhode Islandsource: Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services (OLIS) — Rhode Island Children's Book Award winners and nominees 1991-2025 — 2019 winner
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Common questions
- What grade level is Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero?
- Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero is listed for grades 3–5. It appears on 1 state book-award list across 1 state. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero?
- It takes about 45 minutes to read Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero (40 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 45 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero?
- Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero appears on reading lists for Rhode Island Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero banned in schools?
- Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero 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.
Why this book is on this list
How we classifyHide
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 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where recommended” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- On state book-award lists in 1 state (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: book-club.