Data study · ReadingList.school · 2026
The most-assigned books in America’s state reading lists
We counted every book on all 50 US states’ official reading and award lists — 6,911 state-linked, source-verified entries across 47 states. One book leads the nation.
The five findings
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio is the most state-assigned book in America — on 29 of 47states’ lists. No other book reaches 27.
- Kate DiCamillo is the most-assigned author — her 7 books reach 35 states, ahead of Louis Sachar (30) and R.J. Palacio (30).
- State lists are newer than people think: of the top-100 books, 52% were published 2010 or later (median publication year 2010); only 18 predate 1990.
- The consensus is elementary-only.Elementary winners reach 25–29 states; the top high-school book reaches just 4— state consensus collapses by high school.
- The long tail is local: 451 of 713 state-listed books (63%) appear on exactly onestate’s list.
Top 25 most-assigned books
By number of states whose official reading/award lists include the book.
| # | Book | Author | Year | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wonder | R.J. Palacio | 2012 | 29 |
| 2 | Because of Winn-Dixie | Kate DiCamillo | 2000 | 26 |
| 3 | Shiloh | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | 1991 | 25 |
| 4 | Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library | Chris Grabenstein | 2013 | 23 |
| 5 | Holes | Louis Sachar | 1998 | 22 |
| 6 | Maniac Magee | Jerry Spinelli | 1990 | 20 |
| 7 | New Kid | Jerry Craft | 2019 | 20 |
| 8 | The Giver | Lois Lowry | 1993 | 20 |
| 9 | There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom | Louis Sachar | 2004 | 19 |
| 10 | Refugee | Alan Gratz | 2017 | 18 |
| 11 | The Tale of Despereaux | Kate DiCamillo | 2003 | 17 |
| 12 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Jeff Kinney | 2007 | 16 |
| 13 | Frindle | Andrew Clements | 1996 | 15 |
| 14 | Out of My Mind | Sharon M. Draper | 2010 | 14 |
| 15 | Restart | Gordon Korman | 2017 | 14 |
| 16 | Roller Girl | Victoria Jamieson | 2015 | 14 |
| 17 | Superfudge | Judy Blume | 2014 | 14 |
| 18 | The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | 2008 | 14 |
| 19 | The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) | Rick Riordan | 2005 | 14 |
| 20 | The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane | Kate DiCamillo | 2009 | 14 |
| 21 | When Stars Are Scattered | Victoria Jamieson | 2020 | 14 |
| 22 | 11 Birthdays | Wendy Mass | 2011 | 13 |
| 23 | El Deafo | Cece Bell | 2014 | 13 |
| 24 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | J.K. Rowling | 1997 | 12 |
| 25 | The Crossover | Kwame Alexander | 2014 | 12 |
↓ Download the full top-100 as CSV (CC BY 4.0)
Most-assigned authors
Distinct states reached by any of the author’s books.
| Author | States | Books on lists |
|---|---|---|
| Kate DiCamillo | 35 | 7 |
| Louis Sachar | 30 | 4 |
| R.J. Palacio | 30 | 2 |
| Alan Gratz | 27 | 8 |
| Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | 27 | 4 |
| Jerry Spinelli | 26 | 5 |
| Lois Lowry | 24 | 4 |
| Rick Riordan | 23 | 7 |
| Chris Grabenstein | 23 | 1 |
| Gordon Korman | 21 | 10 |
When the top-100 was published
Median publication year: 2010. More than half the top-100 is from 2010 or later.
Where consensus breaks down: by grade band
The most-assigned title in each band, and how many states it reaches.
Every state’s list is a little bit its own
63% of listed books appear on exactly one state’s list. These states have the most exclusive picks — books no other state assigns:
Browse any state’s full list from the state directory.
Methodology
Counts derive from ReadingList.school’s assignment database: state award programs, department-of-education recommended lists, and children’s-choice award lists, each row verified against its official source (source URL + last-verified date stored per assignment). 6,911 of 13,258 assignments are state-linked; 47 of 50 states have at least one state-linked list in the snapshot. “Assigned” means the book appears on that state’s official award/recommended list — not a classroom mandate.
Figures were computed 2026-07-13 from a fixed snapshot so they stay stable for citation. Our full methodology documents sourcing and verification.
Cite this study
Free to cite and reuse under CC BY 4.0 (credit “ReadingList.school”).
ReadingList.school. (2026). The Most-Assigned Books in America's State Reading Lists. Retrieved from https://readinglist.school/data/most-assigned-books-2026
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