# Books written in the 1930s, assigned in US schools

Depression-era social realism and the rise of the protest novel; Steinbeck, Hurston, McCullers anchor the era.

**7** books written between 1930 and 1939 that US schools assign across state ELA standards, AP/IB syllabi, and Common Core exemplar lists.

**Decade window:** 1930–1939
**Lexile range:** 630L–1080L
**Grade span:** 3–12
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/decade/1930s
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## Themes of the 1930s

- American Dream (2)
- family (2)
- African American womanhood
- Black folk culture
- Great Depression
- adventure
- collectivism
- community

## Authors writing in the 1930s

- John Steinbeck (2)
- Aldous Huxley
- Ayn Rand
- Richard Atwater · Florence Atwater
- Thornton Wilder
- Zora Neale Hurston

## Genres

- Dystopian Fiction (2)
- Literary Fiction (2)
- American Classic
- Drama
- Middle Grade Fiction

## The 1930s canon

- [Brave New World](https://readinglist.school/book/brave-new-world) by Aldous Huxley _(870L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1932)_
- [Of Mice and Men](https://readinglist.school/book/of-mice-and-men) by John Steinbeck _(630L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1937)_
- [Their Eyes Were Watching God](https://readinglist.school/book/their-eyes-were-watching-god) by Zora Neale Hurston _(1080L · Grades 10–12 · pub 1937)_
- [Anthem](https://readinglist.school/book/anthem) by Ayn Rand _(880L · Grades 8–12 · pub 1938)_
- [Mr. Popper's Penguins](https://readinglist.school/book/mr-poppers-penguins) by Richard Atwater · Florence Atwater _(910L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1938)_
- [Our Town](https://readinglist.school/book/our-town) by Thornton Wilder _(Grades 9–12 · pub 1938)_
- [The Grapes of Wrath](https://readinglist.school/book/the-grapes-of-wrath) by John Steinbeck _(680L · Grades 10–12 · pub 1939)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. JSON API: https://readinglist.school/api/decade/1930s · HTML view: https://readinglist.school/decade/1930s._