# Books written in the 1960s, assigned in US schools

Civil Rights, coming-of-age, and the canonical American social-novel decade; To Kill a Mockingbird, A Wrinkle in Time, The Outsiders.

**45** books written between 1960 and 1969 that US schools assign across state ELA standards, AP/IB syllabi, and Common Core exemplar lists.

**Decade window:** 1960–1969
**Lexile range:** 210L–1070L
**Grade span:** K–12
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/decade/1960s
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## Themes of the 1960s

- friendship (9)
- family (7)
- imagination (5)
- growing up (4)
- identity (4)
- adventure (3)
- coming of age (3)
- kindness (3)

## Authors writing in the 1960s

- Beverly Cleary (2)
- Roald Dahl (2)
- Arthur Ransome
- Barbara Emberley
- Beatrice Schenk De Regniers
- Daniel Keyes
- David Harry Walker
- Don Freeman

## Genres

- Middle Grade Fiction (7)
- Juvenile Fiction (6)
- Picture Book (4)
- Children's (3)
- Literary Fiction (3)
- Realistic Fiction (3)
- Memoir (2)
- Picture Book / Beginner Reader (2)

## The 1960s canon

- [Green Eggs and Ham](https://readinglist.school/book/green-eggs-and-ham) by Dr. Seuss _(210L · Grades K–2 · pub 1960)_
- [Island of the Blue Dolphins](https://readinglist.school/book/island-of-the-blue-dolphins) by Scott O'Dell _(1000L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1960)_
- [Night](https://readinglist.school/book/night) by Elie Wiesel _(590L · Grades 9–12 · pub 1960)_
- [The Cricket in Times Square](https://readinglist.school/book/the-cricket-in-times-square) by George Selden _(780L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1960)_
- [To Kill a Mockingbird](https://readinglist.school/book/to-kill-a-mockingbird) by Harper Lee _(870L · Grades 7–10 · pub 1960)_
- [James and the Giant Peach](https://readinglist.school/book/james-and-the-giant-peach) by Roald Dahl _(870L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1961)_
- [Once a Mouse...](https://readinglist.school/book/once-a-mouse) by Marcia Brown _(Grades K–3 · pub 1961)_
- [The Bronze Bow](https://readinglist.school/book/the-bronze-bow) by Elizabeth George Speare _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1961)_
- [The Phantom Tollbooth](https://readinglist.school/book/the-phantom-tollbooth) by Norton Juster _(1000L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1961)_
- [Where the Red Fern Grows](https://readinglist.school/book/where-the-red-fern-grows) by Wilson Rawls _(700L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1961)_
- [A Wrinkle in Time](https://readinglist.school/book/a-wrinkle-in-time) by Madeleine L'Engle _(740L · Grades 5–7 · pub 1962)_
- [The Snowy Day](https://readinglist.school/book/the-snowy-day) by Ezra Jack Keats _(500L · Grades K–2 · pub 1962)_
- [Amelia Bedelia](https://readinglist.school/book/amelia-bedelia) by Peggy Parish _(380L · Grades 1–3 · pub 1963)_
- [It's Like This Cat](https://readinglist.school/book/its-like-this-cat) by Emily Neville _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1963)_
- [Rascal](https://readinglist.school/book/rascal) by Sterling North _(Grades 5–8 · pub 1963)_
- [Where the Wild Things Are](https://readinglist.school/book/where-the-wild-things-are) by Maurice Sendak _(740L · Grades K–3 · pub 1963)_
- [Charlie and the Chocolate Factory](https://readinglist.school/book/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory) by Roald Dahl _(810L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1964)_
- [Flat Stanley](https://readinglist.school/book/flat-stanley) by Jeff Brown _(540L · Grades 1–3 · pub 1964)_
- [Harriet the Spy](https://readinglist.school/book/harriet-the-spy) by Louise Fitzhugh _(Grades 4–7 · pub 1964)_
- [May I Bring a Friend?](https://readinglist.school/book/may-i-bring-a-friend) by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers _(Grades K–3 · pub 1964)_
- [Shadow of a Bull](https://readinglist.school/book/shadow-of-a-bull) by Maia Wojciechowska _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1964)_
- [The Giving Tree](https://readinglist.school/book/the-giving-tree) by Shel Silverstein _(530L · Grades K–5 · pub 1964)_
- [I, Juan de Pareja](https://readinglist.school/book/i-juan-de-pareja) by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1965)_
- [The Mouse and the Motorcycle](https://readinglist.school/book/the-mouse-and-the-motorcycle) by Beverly Cleary _(860L · Grades 2–4 · pub 1965)_
- [Flowers for Algernon](https://readinglist.school/book/flowers-for-algernon) by Daniel Keyes _(910L · Grades 8–11 · pub 1966)_
- [Henry Reed's Babysitting Service](https://readinglist.school/book/henry-reeds-babysitting-service) by Keith Robertson _(Grades 4–6 · pub 1966)_
- [Up a Road Slowly](https://readinglist.school/book/up-a-road-slowly) by Irene Hunt _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1966)_
- [Drummer Hoff](https://readinglist.school/book/drummer-hoff) by Barbara Emberley _(Grades K–3 · pub 1967)_
- [From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler](https://readinglist.school/book/from-the-mixed-up-files-of-mrs-basil-e-frankweiler) by E.L. Konigsburg _(700L · Grades 4–6 · pub 1967)_
- [The Outsiders](https://readinglist.school/book/the-outsiders) by S.E. Hinton _(750L · Grades 7–9 · pub 1967)_
- [A Racecourse for Andy](https://readinglist.school/book/a-little-fear) by Patricia Wrightson _(Grades 4–9 · pub 1968)_
- [Corduroy](https://readinglist.school/book/corduroy) by Don Freeman _(600L · Grades K–3 · pub 1968)_
- [Ramona the Pest](https://readinglist.school/book/ramona-the-pest) by Beverly Cleary _(750L · Grades 2–4 · pub 1968)_
- [Striped Ice Cream](https://readinglist.school/book/striped-ice-cream) by Joan M. Lexau _(Grades 4–6 · pub 1968)_
- [The Adventures of Paddy Pork](https://readinglist.school/book/the-adventures-of-paddy-pork) by John S. Goodall _(Grades K–5 · pub 1968)_
- [The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship](https://readinglist.school/book/the-fool-of-the-world-and-the-flying-ship) by Arthur Ransome _(Grades K–3 · pub 1968)_
- [The High King](https://readinglist.school/book/the-high-king) by Lloyd Alexander _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1968)_
- [The Spring Rider](https://readinglist.school/book/the-spring-rider) by John Shults Lawson _(Grades 4–9 · pub 1968)_
- [Big Ben](https://readinglist.school/book/big-ben) by David Harry Walker _(Grades 4–6 · pub 1969)_
- [I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings](https://readinglist.school/book/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings) by Maya Angelou _(1070L · Grades 10–12 · pub 1969)_
- [Slaughterhouse-Five](https://readinglist.school/book/slaughterhouse-five) by Kurt Vonnegut _(850L · Grades 11–12 · pub 1969)_
- [Sounder](https://readinglist.school/book/sounder) by William H. Armstrong _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1969)_
- [Sylvester and the Magic Pebble](https://readinglist.school/book/sylvester-and-the-magic-pebble) by William Steig _(Grades K–3 · pub 1969)_
- [The Cay](https://readinglist.school/book/the-cay) by Theodore Taylor _(Grades 5–8 · pub 1969)_
- [The Very Hungry Caterpillar](https://readinglist.school/book/the-very-hungry-caterpillar) by Eric Carle _(460L · Grades K–2 · pub 1969)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. JSON API: https://readinglist.school/api/decade/1960s · HTML view: https://readinglist.school/decade/1960s._