To Catch a Thief
by Martha Brockenbrough
To Catch a Thief by Martha Brockenbrough is assigned in US schools at grades 4–5. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where To Catch a Thief 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 4–5
- Pages
- 205
- Reading time
- about 3h 45m (est.)
- First published
- 2023
- ISBN-13
- 9781338818598
Where to find this book
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About this book
“To Catch a Thief is a page-turner of a mystery with a great big heart, and Amelia MacGuffin is the smart, funny kid sleuth we’ve all been waiting for. Readers will laugh and fall in love with the MacGuffin family as they follow the clues to crack this absolutely delightful case.” --Kate Messner, New York Times bestselling author of Blackout Urchin Beach isn’t the sort of place where bad things happen. The little seaside town is too lucky for that. But then one day, a thief steals something precious—the town’s dragonfly staff, which is the source of all its good fortune and the most important part of the upcoming Dragonfly Day Festival. Amelia MacGuffin is no detective. She’s eleven, quiet, and unlike her four younger siblings, she has no special talents. But Amelia loves her town. Her fam
Where this book is assigned
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Common questions
- What grade level is To Catch a Thief?
- To Catch a Thief is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–5. 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 To Catch a Thief?
- It takes about 3h 45m to read To Catch a Thief (205 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 225 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign To Catch a Thief?
- To Catch a Thief appears on reading lists for Georgia Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is To Catch a Thief banned in schools?
- To Catch a Thief 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
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 4–5 — 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 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: book-club.