
The Old Willis Place
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Among the most widely assigned — 5 curriculum lists · 4 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).
The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn is assigned in US schools at grades 3–6. It appears across 5 curriculum references 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 Old Willis Place 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 3–6
- Pages
- 164
- Reading time
- about 3 hours (est.)
- First published
- 2024
- ISBN-13
- 9780358649939
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
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Where this book is assigned
Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · Vermontsource: Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Children's Book Award — official winners list (Vermont grades 4-8, annual since 1957)
- recommended·5th grade · Vermontsource: Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Children's Book Award — official winners list (Vermont grades 4-8, annual since 1957)
- recommended·6th grade · Vermontsource: Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Children's Book Award — official winners list (Vermont grades 4-8, annual since 1957)
Iowa Children's Choice Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Iowasource: Iowa Children's Choice Award winners (Iowa Association of School Librarians), via Goodreads award record — 2008
- recommended·4th grade · Iowasource: Iowa Children's Choice Award winners (Iowa Association of School Librarians), via Goodreads award record — 2008
- recommended·5th grade · Iowasource: Iowa Children's Choice Award winners (Iowa Association of School Librarians), via Goodreads award record — 2008
- recommended·6th grade · Iowasource: Iowa Children's Choice Award winners (Iowa Association of School Librarians), via Goodreads award record — 2008
Nebraska Golden Sower Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award (student-choice; Honeybee grades 3-5 + Meadowlark grades 6-9; annual since 1981)
- recommended·4th grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award (student-choice; Honeybee grades 3-5 + Meadowlark grades 6-9; annual since 1981)
- recommended·5th grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award (student-choice; Honeybee grades 3-5 + Meadowlark grades 6-9; annual since 1981)
- recommended·6th grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award (student-choice; Honeybee grades 3-5 + Meadowlark grades 6-9; annual since 1981)
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Vermontsource: Vermont Dept. of Libraries — Golden Dome Book Award (formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, est. 1957): Vermont's statewide grades 4-8 children's-choice program (students read the nominees and vote). Winner list 1957-2020.
- recommended·4th grade · Vermontsource: Vermont Dept. of Libraries — Golden Dome Book Award (formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, est. 1957): Vermont's statewide grades 4-8 children's-choice program (students read the nominees and vote). Winner list 1957-2020.
- recommended·5th grade · Vermontsource: Vermont Dept. of Libraries — Golden Dome Book Award (formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, est. 1957): Vermont's statewide grades 4-8 children's-choice program (students read the nominees and vote). Winner list 1957-2020.
- recommended·6th grade · Vermontsource: Vermont Dept. of Libraries — Golden Dome Book Award (formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, est. 1957): Vermont's statewide grades 4-8 children's-choice program (students read the nominees and vote). Winner list 1957-2020.
Volunteer State Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Tennesseesource: Tennessee Library Association — Volunteer State Book Award, Intermediate (gr 4-6) + Middle School (gr 6-8) divisions (student-choice; since 1979); past-winners roll
- recommended·4th grade · Tennesseesource: Tennessee Library Association — Volunteer State Book Award, Intermediate (gr 4-6) + Middle School (gr 6-8) divisions (student-choice; since 1979); past-winners roll
- recommended·5th grade · Tennesseesource: Tennessee Library Association — Volunteer State Book Award, Intermediate (gr 4-6) + Middle School (gr 6-8) divisions (student-choice; since 1979); past-winners roll
- recommended·6th grade · Tennesseesource: Tennessee Library Association — Volunteer State Book Award, Intermediate (gr 4-6) + Middle School (gr 6-8) divisions (student-choice; since 1979); past-winners roll
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Common questions
- What grade level is The Old Willis Place?
- The Old Willis Place is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–6. 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 Old Willis Place?
- It takes about 3 hours to read The Old Willis Place (164 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 180 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign The Old Willis Place?
- The Old Willis Place appears on reading lists for Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award, Iowa Children's Choice Award, Nebraska Golden Sower Award, and 2 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is The Old Willis Place banned in schools?
- The Old Willis Place 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.
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
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 3–6 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 5 curricula 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
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: award-winner, book-club.