The Cay
The Cay by Theodore Taylor is assigned in US schools at grades 5–8. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where The Cay 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 5–8
- Age range
- Ages 10–13
- Pages
- 144
- Reading time
- about 2h 40m (est.)
- First published
- 1969
- Genre
- Historical Fiction
- ISBN-13
- 9780812415292
Where to find this book
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About this book
Theodore Taylor's 1969 survival novel is set during World War II, when eleven-year-old Phillip is shipwrecked and stranded on a tiny Caribbean cay with Timothy, an elderly West Indian sailor. Blinded in the wreck and forced to rely on the man he had been taught to look down on, Phillip slowly sheds his prejudice as Timothy teaches him to survive.
Why widely assigned
This Historical Fiction title, typically at grades 5–8. Written in the 1960s; pairs with curriculum units on survival and friendship.
Themes
survival · friendship · race · courage
Where this book is assigned
No curriculum assignments on file yet.
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 Cay→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Common questions
- What grade level is The Cay?
- The Cay is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 5–8. 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 Cay?
- It takes about 2h 40m to read The Cay (144 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 160 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- Is The Cay banned in schools?
- The Cay 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 The Cay explore?
- Central themes in The Cay include survival, friendship, race, courage. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.
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 5–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Not yet documented in any tracked curriculum.
- 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
- No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.