Cover of The Honorable Prison

The Honorable Prison

by Lyll Becerra de Jenkins · Grades 6–10 · Realistic Fiction

The Honorable Prison by Lyll Becerra de Jenkins is on US reading lists at grades 6–10. It appears on 1 list: the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. Every citation below links to the primary source.

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Before you buy: Ages 11–15 · Grades 6–10 · 199 pages. The button opens an Amazon search: pick the edition with ISBN 9780140329520 if that is the one your class uses.

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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

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.

Reading level at a glance

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

Sources: grade range from the cited lists below, last checked 2026-09-23; pages and year from our catalog record (sources); reading time is an estimate at 250 words a minute.

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Why it is assigned

This realistic fiction title is typically read at grades 6–10. Written in the 1980s; pairs with curriculum units on freedom of speech and political prisoners; cited on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Themes

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

Where this book is recommended

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Common questions

What grade level is The Honorable Prison?
The Honorable Prison is listed for grades 6–10. It appears on 1 book-award list. Exact placement varies by school and district.
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. See the banned books list by state.
What themes does The Honorable Prison explore?
Central themes in The Honorable Prison include freedom of speech, political prisoners, prisons, fiction, newspapers, fiction.

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 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
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: award-winner.

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