# Books written in the 1940s, assigned in US schools

World War II and post-war reckoning; novels of identity, displacement, and totalitarianism enter the canon.

**38** books written between 1940 and 1949 that US schools assign across state ELA standards, AP/IB syllabi, and Common Core exemplar lists.

**Decade window:** 1940–1949
**Lexile range:** 730L–1170L
**Grade span:** K–12
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/decade/1940s
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## Themes of the 1940s

- family (6)
- adventure (2)
- coming of age (2)
- education (2)
- illusion and reality (2)
- language and thought (2)
- mental health (2)
- poverty (2)

## Authors writing in the 1940s

- George Orwell (2)
- Robert Lawson (2)
- Robert McCloskey (2)
- Tennessee Williams (2)
- Alvin Tresselt
- Anne Frank
- Armstrong Sperry
- Arthur Miller

## Genres

- Juvenile Fiction (11)
- Children's (4)
- Drama (4)
- Literary Fiction (2)
- Memoir (2)
- Middle Grade Fiction (2)
- Allegorical Fiction
- Animals

## The 1940s canon

- [Call It Courage](https://readinglist.school/book/call-it-courage) by Armstrong Sperry _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1940)_
- [Lassie Come Home](https://readinglist.school/book/lassie-come-home) by Eric Knight _(Grades 4–7 · pub 1940)_
- [They Were Strong and Good](https://readinglist.school/book/they-were-strong-and-good) by Robert Lawson _(Grades 1–4 · pub 1940)_
- [Make Way for Ducklings](https://readinglist.school/book/make-way-for-ducklings) by Robert McCloskey _(730L · Grades K–3 · pub 1941)_
- [The Matchlock Gun](https://readinglist.school/book/the-matchlock-gun) by Walter Dumaux Edmonds _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1941)_
- [Adam of the Road](https://readinglist.school/book/adam-of-the-road) by Elizabeth Gray Vining _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1942)_
- [The Little House](https://readinglist.school/book/the-little-house) by Virginia Lee Burton _(Grades K–3 · pub 1942)_
- [A Tree Grows in Brooklyn](https://readinglist.school/book/a-tree-grows-in-brooklyn) by Betty Smith _(Grades 9–12 · pub 1943)_
- [Homer Price](https://readinglist.school/book/homer-price) by Robert McCloskey _(Grades 4–7 · pub 1943)_
- [Johnny Tremain](https://readinglist.school/book/johnny-tremain) by Esther Hoskins Forbes _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1943)_
- [Many Moons](https://readinglist.school/book/many-moons) by James Thurber _(Grades K–3 · pub 1943)_
- [The Return of Silver Chief](https://readinglist.school/book/the-return-of-silver-chief) by Jack O'Brien _(Grades 4–7 · pub 1943)_
- [Prayer for a Child](https://readinglist.school/book/prayer-for-a-child) by Rachel Field _(Grades K–3 · pub 1944)_
- [Rabbit Hill](https://readinglist.school/book/rabbit-hill) by Robert Lawson _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1944)_
- [The Glass Menagerie](https://readinglist.school/book/the-glass-menagerie) by Tennessee Williams _(Grades 11–12 · pub 1944)_
- [The Hundred Dresses](https://readinglist.school/book/the-hundred-dresses) by Eleanor Estes _(870L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1944)_
- [An Inspector Calls](https://readinglist.school/book/an-inspector-calls) by J. B. Priestley _(Grades 9–10 · pub 1945)_
- [Animal Farm](https://readinglist.school/book/animal-farm) by George Orwell _(1170L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1945)_
- [Black Boy](https://readinglist.school/book/black-boy) by Richard Wright _(950L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1945)_
- [Strawberry Girl](https://readinglist.school/book/strawberry-girl) by Lois Lenski _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1945)_
- [Stuart Little](https://readinglist.school/book/stuart-little) by E.B. White _(920L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1945)_
- [The Rooster Crows](https://readinglist.school/book/the-rooster-crows) by Maud Petersham _(Grades K–3 · pub 1945)_
- [Miss Hickory](https://readinglist.school/book/miss-hickory) by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1946)_
- [The Little Island](https://readinglist.school/book/the-little-island) by Margaret Wise Brown _(Grades K–3 · pub 1946)_
- [A Streetcar Named Desire](https://readinglist.school/book/a-streetcar-named-desire) by Tennessee Williams _(Grades 11–12 · pub 1947)_
- [McElligot's Pool](https://readinglist.school/book/mcelligots-pool) by Dr. Seuss _(Grades 4–7 · pub 1947)_
- [The Diary of a Young Girl](https://readinglist.school/book/the-diary-of-a-young-girl) by Anne Frank _(1080L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1947)_
- [The Pearl](https://readinglist.school/book/the-pearl) by John Steinbeck _(1010L · Grades 6–9 · pub 1947)_
- [The Twenty-One Balloons](https://readinglist.school/book/the-twenty-one-balloons) by William Pene du Bois _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1947)_
- [White Snow, Bright Snow](https://readinglist.school/book/white-snow-bright-snow) by Alvin Tresselt _(Grades K–3 · pub 1947)_
- [King of the Wind](https://readinglist.school/book/king-of-the-wind) by Marguerite Henry _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1948)_
- [My Father's Dragon](https://readinglist.school/book/my-fathers-dragon) by Ruth Stiles Gannett _(990L · Grades 2–4 · pub 1948)_
- [The Big Snow](https://readinglist.school/book/the-big-snow) by Berta and Elmer Hader _(Grades K–3 · pub 1948)_
- [The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth](https://readinglist.school/book/the-magic-school-bus-inside-the-earth) by Joanna Cole _(Grades K–3 · pub 1948)_
- [1984](https://readinglist.school/book/1984) by George Orwell _(1090L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1949)_
- [Death of a Salesman](https://readinglist.school/book/death-of-a-salesman) by Arthur Miller _(Grades 11–12 · pub 1949)_
- [Song of the Swallows](https://readinglist.school/book/song-of-the-swallows) by Leo Politi _(Grades K–3 · pub 1949)_
- [The Door in the Wall](https://readinglist.school/book/the-door-in-the-wall) by Marguerite de Angeli _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1949)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. JSON API: https://readinglist.school/api/decade/1940s · HTML view: https://readinglist.school/decade/1940s._