
The Black Kids
by Christina Hammonds Reed · Grades 9–12 · Young Adult
The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed is on US reading lists at grades 9–12. It appears on 1 list: the William C. Morris YA Debut Award. Every citation below links to the primary source.
Before you buy: Grades 9–12 · 368 pages. The button opens the hardcover edition (ISBN 9781534462724). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.
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Assigned across 1 curriculum list
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 The Black Kids 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 9–12
- Pages
- 368
- Reading time
- about 6h 45m (est.)
- First published
- 2020
- Genre
- Young Adult
- ISBN-13
- 9781534462724
Sources: grade range from the cited lists below, last checked 2026-06-19; pages and year from our catalog record (sources); reading time is an estimate at 250 words a minute.
Good fit for grade 9?
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New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
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Why it is assigned
This young adult title is typically read at grades 9–12. Written in the 2020s; cited on the William C. Morris YA Debut Award.
Where this book is recommended
William C. Morris YA Debut Award
- recommended·9th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2021 Honor
- recommended·10th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2021 Honor
- recommended·11th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2021 Honor
- recommended·12th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2021 Honor
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Common questions
- What grade level is The Black Kids?
- The Black Kids is listed for grades 9–12. It appears on 1 book-award list. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read The Black Kids?
- It takes about 6h 45m to read The Black Kids (368 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 405 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign The Black Kids?
- The Black Kids appears on reading lists for William C. Morris YA Debut Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is The Black Kids banned in schools?
- The Black Kids has documented removals from at least one public-school district in 1 state (FL) per PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. Policies vary by district.
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 9–12 — drawn from the 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
- Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
- Removal / banning records
- Documented as challenged or removed in 1 state per PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans — see the full banned & challenged books list.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: read-aloud.