Shoeshine Girl
by Clyde Robert Bulla
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Assigned across 2 curriculum lists · 2 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).
Shoeshine Girl by Clyde Robert Bulla is assigned in US schools at grades 4–6. It appears across 2 curriculum references and 2 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Shoeshine Girl 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 4–6
- Age range
- Ages 9–11
- Pages
- 87
- Reading time
- about 1h 35m (est.)
- First published
- 1900
- Genre
- Realistic Fiction
- ISBN-13
- 9780440840060
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
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See all books like Shoeshine Girl→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Realistic Fiction title, typically at grades 4–6. Written in the 1900s; pairs with curriculum units on shoe shiners and friendship; cited across 2 curriculum frameworks.
Themes
shoe shiners · friendship · behavior · girls, fiction
Where this book is assigned
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · Arkansassource: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award — Arkansas's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-6): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·5th grade · Arkansassource: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award — Arkansas's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-6): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·6th grade · Arkansassource: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award — Arkansas's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-6): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
South Carolina Children's Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · South Carolinasource: South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) — South Carolina Children's Book Award official past winners list (linked from scasl.net) — 1980 winner
- recommended·4th grade · South Carolinasource: South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) — South Carolina Children's Book Award official past winners list (linked from scasl.net) — 1980 winner
- recommended·5th grade · South Carolinasource: South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) — South Carolina Children's Book Award official past winners list (linked from scasl.net) — 1980 winner
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Common questions
- What grade level is Shoeshine Girl?
- Shoeshine Girl is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–6. It appears on 2 school reading lists across 2 states, from grade 3 to grade 6. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read Shoeshine Girl?
- It takes about 1h 35m to read Shoeshine Girl (87 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 95 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Shoeshine Girl?
- Shoeshine Girl appears on reading lists for Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award, South Carolina Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Shoeshine Girl banned in schools?
- Shoeshine Girl 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 Shoeshine Girl explore?
- Central themes in Shoeshine Girl include shoe shiners, friendship, behavior, girls, fiction.
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 4–6 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 2 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 2 states ELA frameworks 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.