The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman · Grades 5–8 · Middle Grade Fantasy
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is assigned in US schools at grades 5–8, with a Lexile measure of 820L. It appears on 4 lists: 1 state standards document and 3 book-award lists, across 2 states. Every citation below links to the primary source.
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Before you buy: Ages 10–14 · Grades 5–8 · Lexile 820L · 312 pages. Content notes: violence (off-page murder), supernatural themes, mild peril (Common Sense Media: 11+). The button opens the paperback edition (ISBN 9780060530945). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.
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Widely assigned — 4 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).
This page shows where The Graveyard Book 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
- Lexile
- 820L
- Grade range
- Grades 5–8See the list:5th6th7th8th
- Difficulty for grade
- Within the grade 4–5 band (740–1010L)
- Age range
- Ages 10–14
- Pages
- 312
- Reading time
- about 5h 45m (est.)
- First published
- 2008
- Genre
- Middle Grade Fantasy
- ISBN-13
- 9780060530945
Its Lexile (820L) is higher than 73% of the 80 books with a Lexile on our cited 5th grade lists.
Sources: Lexile from MetaMetrics as recorded in our catalog (method); grade range from the cited lists below, last checked 2026-06-20; percentile computed from those lists; pages and year from our catalog record (sources); reading time is an estimate at 250 words a minute.
Good fit for grade 3?
If you have read it with a child or a class in this grade, tell other parents and teachers. One tap, no account.
Reading difficulty: At 820L, The Graveyard Book falls within the typical 740–1010L text-complexity range for 5th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge.
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More formats & details
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About this book
Book facts and sources (4)
- Award won
- Newbery Medal, 2009 (source: Wikipedia)
- On award reading lists
- Great Stone Face Book Award (source: librarything.com)
- Kentucky Bluegrass Award (source: kasl.us)
- Named in curriculum frameworks
- Common Core State Standards (ELA) (source: nysed.gov)
- Catalog record
- First published 2008 · 312 pages (edition lengths vary) (source: how we source book data)
Similar grade-level books
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee · 870L
Of Mice and MenJohn Steinbeck · 630L
The GiverLois Lowry · 760L
The OutsidersS.E. Hinton · 750L
See all books like The Graveyard Book→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This middle grade fantasy title reads at middle-grade prose complexity and is typically read at grades 5–8. Written in the 2000s; pairs with curriculum units on found family and the supernatural and the living; cited on 4 lists: 1 state standards document and 3 book-award lists.
Themes
found family · the supernatural and the living · coming of age · death and grief (gentle) · identity
Content notes
violence (off-page murder) · supernatural themes · mild peril
Common Sense Media recommends age 11+.
Where this book is assigned
Common Core State Standards (ELA)
Great Stone Face Book Award
- recommended·5th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
- recommended·6th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
- recommended·7th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
- recommended·8th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
Kentucky Bluegrass Award
- recommended·5th grade · Kentuckysource: Kentucky Association of School Librarians — Kentucky Bluegrass Award Winner's Circle (grades 3-5 + 6-8; annual since 1983)
- recommended·6th grade · Kentuckysource: Kentucky Association of School Librarians — Kentucky Bluegrass Award Winner's Circle (grades 3-5 + 6-8; annual since 1983)
- recommended·7th grade · Kentuckysource: Kentucky Association of School Librarians — Kentucky Bluegrass Award Winner's Circle (grades 3-5 + 6-8; annual since 1983)
- recommended·8th grade · Kentuckysource: Kentucky Association of School Librarians — Kentucky Bluegrass Award Winner's Circle (grades 3-5 + 6-8; annual since 1983)
Newbery Medal
- recommended·3rd gradesource: Newbery Medal (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2009 Newbery Medal winner
- recommended·4th gradesource: Newbery Medal (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2009 Newbery Medal winner
- recommended·5th gradesource: Newbery Medal winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2009 Newbery Medal
- recommended·6th gradesource: Newbery Medal winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2009 Newbery Medal
- recommended·7th gradesource: Newbery Medal winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2009 Newbery Medal
- recommended·8th gradesource: Newbery Medal winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2009 Newbery Medal
The Graveyard Book by the numbers: pages, reading time and where it is listed, on Book Statistics.
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Common questions
- Is The Graveyard Book hard to read for 5th grade?
- At 820L, The Graveyard Book falls within the typical 740–1010L text-complexity range for 5th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately. For more titles like it, see books like The Graveyard Book.
- What grade level is The Graveyard Book?
- The Graveyard Book is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 5–8, with a Lexile measure of 820L. It appears on 4 school reading lists across 2 states, from grade 3 to grade 8. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- What is the Lexile level of The Graveyard Book?
- The Graveyard Book has a Lexile measure of 820L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.
- How long does it take to read The Graveyard Book?
- It takes about 5h 45m to read The Graveyard Book (312 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 345 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign The Graveyard Book?
- The Graveyard Book appears on reading lists for Common Core State Standards (ELA), Great Stone Face Book Award, Kentucky Bluegrass Award, and 1 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
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
- 820L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
- Grade band
- Grades 5–8 — drawn from the curriculum sources cited on this page.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 4 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- On state book-award lists in 2 states (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- Documented as challenged or removed in 2 states per PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans — see the full banned & challenged books list.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: award-winner, book-club.