Cover of The Honorable Prison

The Honorable Prison

by Lyll Becerra de Jenkins

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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).

On reading-award lists:Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

The Honorable Prison by Lyll Becerra de Jenkins is assigned in US schools at grades 6–10. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where The Honorable Prison 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 6–10
Age range
Ages 11–15
Pages
199
Reading time
about 3h 40m (est.)
First published
1988
Genre
Realistic Fiction
ISBN-13
9780140329520

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

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About this book

Because of the moral stand taken by her father, a newspaper editor who has persistently attacked the military dictator ruling their Latin American country, Marta and her family find themselves prisoners of the government.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like The Honorable Prison→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Realistic Fiction title, typically at grades 6–10. Written in the 1980s; pairs with curriculum units on freedom of speech and political prisoners; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

freedom of speech · political prisoners · prisons, fiction · newspapers, fiction

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is The Honorable Prison?
The Honorable Prison is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 6–10. 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 Honorable Prison?
It takes about 3h 40m to read The Honorable Prison (199 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 220 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign The Honorable Prison?
The Honorable Prison appears on reading lists for Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is The Honorable Prison banned in schools?
The Honorable Prison 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 Honorable Prison explore?
Central themes in The Honorable Prison include freedom of speech, political prisoners, prisons, fiction, newspapers, fiction. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

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 6–10 — 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
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
Tagged for: award-winner.

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