# Books written in the 1920s, assigned in US schools

Modernism takes hold — Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Hurston — and the Harlem Renaissance reshapes American letters.

**13** books written between 1920 and 1929 that US schools assign across state ELA standards, AP/IB syllabi, and Common Core exemplar lists.

**Decade window:** 1920–1929
**Lexile range:** 490L–1070L
**Grade span:** 2–12
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/decade/1920s
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## Themes of the 1920s

- American Dream
- Jazz Age
- brotherhood
- chinook salmon
- disillusionment
- dogs
- family
- generational loss

## Authors writing in the 1920s

- Arthur Bowie Chrisman
- Beverly Cleary
- Charles J. Finger
- Dhan Gopal Mukerji
- Eric P (Eric Philbrook) Kelly
- Erich Maria Remarque
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Gertrude Chandler Warner

## Genres

- Juvenile Fiction (4)
- Children's Literature (2)
- Biography & Autobiography
- Fiction
- Humor
- Juvenile Nonfiction
- Literary Fiction
- Middle Grade Mystery

## The 1920s canon

- [The Story of Mankind](https://readinglist.school/book/the-story-of-mankind) by Hendrik Willem van Loon _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1921)_
- [The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle](https://readinglist.school/book/the-voyages-of-doctor-dolittle) by Hugh Lofting _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1922)_
- [Ribsy](https://readinglist.school/book/ribsy) by Beverly Cleary _(Grades 4–6 · pub 1923)_
- [The Dark Frigate](https://readinglist.school/book/the-dark-frigate) by Hawes C. _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1923)_
- [Tales from Silver Lands](https://readinglist.school/book/tales-from-silver-lands) by Charles J. Finger _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1924)_
- [The Boxcar Children](https://readinglist.school/book/the-boxcar-children) by Gertrude Chandler Warner _(490L · Grades 2–4 · pub 1924)_
- [Shen of the Sea](https://readinglist.school/book/shen-of-the-sea) by Arthur Bowie Chrisman _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1925)_
- [The Great Gatsby](https://readinglist.school/book/the-great-gatsby) by F. Scott Fitzgerald _(1070L · Grades 10–12 · pub 1925)_
- [Smoky the Cowhorse](https://readinglist.school/book/smoky-the-cowhorse) by Will James _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1926)_
- [Gay Neck, The Story of a Pigeon & Ghond The Hunter](https://readinglist.school/book/gay-neck-the-story-of-a-pigeon) by Dhan Gopal Mukerji _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1927)_
- [The Trumpeter of Krakow](https://readinglist.school/book/the-trumpeter-of-krakow) by Eric P (Eric Philbrook) Kelly _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1928)_
- [All Quiet on the Western Front](https://readinglist.school/book/all-quiet-on-the-western-front) by Erich Maria Remarque _(830L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1929)_
- [Hitty Her First Hundred Years](https://readinglist.school/book/hitty-her-first-hundred-years) by Rachel Field _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1929)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. JSON API: https://readinglist.school/api/decade/1920s · HTML view: https://readinglist.school/decade/1920s._