The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros
Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 4 states
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is assigned in US schools at grades 7–10, with a Lexile measure of 870L. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 4 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where The House on Mango Street is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
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- Lexile
- 870L
- Grade range
- Grades 7–10
- Difficulty for grade
- Below the grade 6–8 band (925–1185L)
- Age range
- Ages 12–16
- Pages
- 110
- Reading time
- about 2 hours (est.)
- First published
- 1984
- Genre
- Coming-of-Age Fiction
- ISBN-13
- 9780679734772
Reading difficulty: At 870L, The House on Mango Street reads below the typical 925–1185L text-complexity range for 7th grade (Common Core Appendix A). It is an accessible read for the grade — often assigned for its themes and discussion value rather than for reading challenge.
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About this book
A young Latina, Esperanza Cordero, narrates a year on Mango Street in Chicago through a series of short vignettes about family, neighbors, and her growing sense of what it means to be a woman and a writer. Cisneros's hybrid of prose and poetic form is widely assigned in middle and early high school for voice and structure analysis.
A book-club pick
Similar grade-level books
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee · 870L
The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald · 1070L
Of Mice and MenJohn Steinbeck · 630L
Lord of the FliesWilliam Golding · 770L
See all books like The House on Mango Street→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Coming-of-Age Fiction title, reads at middle-grade prose complexity, typically at grades 7–10. Written in the 1980s; pairs with curriculum units on identity and poverty; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Content notes
sexual assault (implied) · domestic violence (brief) · poverty
Common Sense Media recommends age 12+.
Where this book is assigned
Common Core State Standards (ELA)
- recommended·7th grade · New Yorksource: NY Next Gen Learning Standards grade 7 aligned reading
- recommended·7th grade · Texassource: TEKS grade 7 frequently taught text
- recommended·8th gradesource: CCSS ELA Appendix B, grades 6-8 exemplar
- recommended·8th grade · Californiasource: CA CCSS ELA grade 8 aligned reading
- required·8th grade · Illinoissource: Chicago PS grade 8 ELA core text (Chicago setting)
- recommended·9th grade · Illinoissource: Illinois Learning Standards grade 9 aligned reading
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Common questions
- What grade level is The House on Mango Street?
- The House on Mango Street is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 7–10, with a Lexile measure of 870L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- What is the Lexile level of The House on Mango Street?
- The House on Mango Street has a Lexile measure of 870L 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 House on Mango Street?
- It takes about 2 hours to read The House on Mango Street (110 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 120 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- Is The House on Mango Street hard to read for 7th grade?
- At 870L, The House on Mango Street reads below the typical 925–1185L text-complexity range for 7th grade (Common Core Appendix A). It is an accessible read for the grade — often assigned for its themes and discussion value rather than for reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.
- What curricula assign The House on Mango Street?
- The House on Mango Street appears on reading lists for Common Core State Standards (ELA). 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
- 870L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
- Grade band
- Grades 7–10 — 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
- Cited in 4 states ELA frameworks or DOE list (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
- No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.