Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination
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Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 1 state
Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).
Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination by Carole Boston Weatherford is assigned in US schools at grades k–3. 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 Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination 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 K–3
- Age range
- Ages 5–9
- Pages
- 36
- Reading time
- about 40 minutes (est.)
- First published
- 2024
- Genre
- Picture Book Nonfiction
- ISBN-13
- 9781662680427
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook
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About this book
Picture-book biography of Vollis Simpson, the North Carolina mechanic who built towering wind-powered whirligigs now preserved in a park in Wilson, NC.
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Why widely assigned
This Picture Book Nonfiction title, typically at grades k–3. Written in the 2020s; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Where this book is assigned
North Carolina Children's Book Award
- recommended·Kindergarten grade · North Carolinasource: North Carolina Library Association, Children's Services Section — 2026 NC Children's Book Award annotated nominee lists (Picture Book K-3 · Junior Book 4-6)
- recommended·1st grade · North Carolinasource: North Carolina Library Association, Children's Services Section — 2026 NC Children's Book Award annotated nominee lists (Picture Book K-3 · Junior Book 4-6)
- recommended·2nd grade · North Carolinasource: North Carolina Library Association, Children's Services Section — 2026 NC Children's Book Award annotated nominee lists (Picture Book K-3 · Junior Book 4-6)
- recommended·3rd grade · North Carolinasource: North Carolina Library Association, Children's Services Section — 2026 NC Children's Book Award annotated nominee lists (Picture Book K-3 · Junior Book 4-6)
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Common questions
- What grade level is Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination?
- Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades K–3. 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 Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination?
- It takes about 40 minutes to read Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination (36 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 40 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination?
- Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination appears on reading lists for North Carolina Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination banned in schools?
- Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination 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 K–3 — 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.