# 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.

**12** 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 (4)
- adventure (2)
- illusion and reality (2)
- language and thought (2)
- mental health (2)
- propaganda (2)
- American Dream
- Boston setting

## Authors writing in the 1940s

- George Orwell (2)
- Tennessee Williams (2)
- Anne Frank
- Arthur Miller
- E.B. White
- Eleanor Estes
- John Steinbeck
- Richard Wright

## Genres

- Drama (3)
- Memoir (2)
- Middle Grade Fiction (2)
- Allegorical Fiction
- Dystopian Fiction
- Early Chapter Book
- Literary Fiction
- Picture Book

## The 1940s canon

- [Make Way for Ducklings](https://readinglist.school/book/make-way-for-ducklings) by Robert McCloskey _(730L · Grades K–3 · pub 1941)_
- [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)_
- [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)_
- [Stuart Little](https://readinglist.school/book/stuart-little) by E.B. White _(920L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1945)_
- [A Streetcar Named Desire](https://readinglist.school/book/a-streetcar-named-desire) by Tennessee Williams _(Grades 11–12 · 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)_
- [My Father's Dragon](https://readinglist.school/book/my-fathers-dragon) by Ruth Stiles Gannett _(990L · Grades 2–4 · 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)_

---

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