The Boy Who Dared
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti 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 The Boy Who Dared 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
- Pages
- 157
- Reading time
- about 2h 55m (est.)
- First published
- 2017
- ISBN-13
- 9781338214314
Where to find this book
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About this book
A Newbery Honor Book author has written a powerful and gripping novel about a youth in Nazi Germany who tells the truth about Hitler. Susan Campbell Bartoletti has taken one episode from her Newbery Honor Book, Hitler Youth, and fleshed it out into thought-provoking novel. When 16-year-old Helmut Hubner listens to the BBC news on an illegal short-wave radio, he quickly discovers Germany is lying to the people. But when he tries to expose the truth with leaflets, he's tried for treason. Sentenced to death and waiting in a jail cell, Helmut's story emerges in a series of flashbacks that show his growth from a naive child caught up in the patriotism of the times , to a sensitive and mature young man who thinks for himself.
Where this book is assigned
William Allen White Children's Book Award
- recommended·6th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award winners (Emporia State University), via Wikipedia — 2011
- recommended·7th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award winners (Emporia State University), via Wikipedia — 2011
- recommended·8th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award winners (Emporia State University), via Wikipedia — 2011
Similar grade-level books
The GiverLois Lowry · 760L
The Diary of a Young GirlAnne Frank · 1080L
The OutsidersS.E. Hinton · 750L
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee · 870L
See all books like The Boy Who Dared→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Common questions
- What grade level is The Boy Who Dared?
- The Boy Who Dared 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 The Boy Who Dared?
- It takes about 2h 55m to read The Boy Who Dared (157 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 175 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign The Boy Who Dared?
- The Boy Who Dared appears on reading lists for William Allen White Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is The Boy Who Dared banned in schools?
- The Boy Who Dared 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.
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
- 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: award-winner.