1990s books assigned in 8th grade
US schools assign 74 books written in the 1990s to 8th grade students, across 30 states, spanning 670L–1000L. Every title below is cited from a state ELA standard, district reading list, or AP/IB syllabus.
- Titles
- 74
- Written
- 1990–1999
- Lexile range
- 670L–1000L
- States assigning
- 30
The list — 1990s, 8th grade
Reading the whole 1990s 8th grade reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.
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Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.
Listen free on Audiblestarts instantlyNew members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.
A Bad Case of StripesDavid Shannon
A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and WonderWalter Wick
Ajeemah and His SonJames Berry
Aliens Ate My HomeworkBruce Coville
Among the HiddenMargaret Peterson Haddix
Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping BirdsCynthia Rylant
BoneJeff Smith
Bud, Not BuddyChristopher Paul Curtis · 950L
Bull RunPaul Fleischman
Catherine, Called BirdyKaren Cushman
Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the QuartersPat McKissack
Chuck CloseRobert Storr
CrashJerry Spinelli
Dog BreathDav Pilkey
Drive-ByLynne Ewing- Flight #116 Is Down!Caroline B. CooneyFlight #116 Is Down!Caroline B. Cooney
Franklin Delano RooseveltRussell Freedman
Goldengrove ; UnleavingJill Paton Walsh
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanJ. K. Rowling
HeavenBill Johnson- Her StoriesVirginia HamiltonHer StoriesVirginia Hamilton
JipKatherine Paterson
Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat MouthBarbara Park
Kids at WorkRussell Freedman
Show all 74 titles
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- Lawn Boy · Gary Paulsen · Buy →
- Loch · Paul Zindel · Buy →
- Martha Graham · Russell Freedman · Buy →
- Math Curse · Jon Scieszka · Buy →
- Missing May · Cynthia Rylant · Buy →
- Monster · Walter Dean Myers · Buy →
- Nova's Ark · Kirk, David · Buy →
- Now Is Your Time · Walter Dean Myers · Buy →
- Orphan Train Rider · Andrea Warren · Buy →
- Out of the Dust · Karen Hesse · Buy →
- Pink and Say · Patricia Polacco · Buy →
- Riding Freedom · Pam Muñoz Ryan · Buy →
- Rules of the Road #1 · Joan Bauer · Buy →
- Running Out of Time · Margaret Peterson Haddix · Buy →
- Shape-Changer · Bill Brittain · Buy →
- Sharing Susan · Eve Bunting · Buy →
- Slam · Walter Dean Myers · Buy →
- Small Steps · Peg Kehret · Buy →
- Sojourner Truth · Pat McKissack · Buy →
- Speak · Laurie Halse Anderson · Buy →
- Stones in Water · Donna Jo Napoli · Buy →
- Tangerine · Edward Bloor · Buy →
- Tarot Says Beware · Betsy Cromer Byars · Buy →
- The Boy's War · Jim Murphy · Buy →
- The Boys Start the War · Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · Buy →
- The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child · Francisco Jiménez · Buy →
- The Dark-Thirty · Patricia McKissack · Buy →
- The Friends · Kazumi Yumoto · Buy →
- The Friendship · Mildred D. Taylor · Buy →
- The Ghost of Fossil Glen · Cynthia C. DeFelice · Buy →
- The Giver · Lois Lowry · Buy →
- The Great Little Madison · Jean Fritz · Buy →
- The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark · Rhoda Blumberg · Buy →
- The Legend of Mackinac Island · Kathy-jo Wargin · Buy →
- The Long Road to Gettysburg · Jim Murphy · Buy →
- The Name of the Game Was Murder · Joan Lowery Nixon · Buy →
- The Rain Catchers · Jean Thesman · Buy →
- The River · Gary Paulsen · Buy →
- The Road to Memphis · Mildred D. Taylor · Buy →
- The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales · Jon Scieszka · Buy →
- The Top of the World · Steve Jenkins · Buy →
- The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle · Avi · Buy →
- The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 · Christopher Paul Curtis · Buy →
- The Wishing Spell · Chris Colfer · Buy →
- The Wright Brothers · Russell Freedman · Buy →
- Toning the Sweep · Angela Johnson · Buy →
- Virtually Perfect · Dan Gutman · Buy →
- Weslandia · Paul Fleischman · Buy →
- When Zachary Beaver Came to Town · Kimberly Willis Holt · Buy →
- Zach's Lie · Roland Smith · Buy →
Most-assigned 1990s authors in 8th grade
Russell Freedman (4) · Walter Dean Myers (3) · Margaret Peterson Haddix (2) · Cynthia Rylant (2) · Christopher Paul Curtis (2) · Paul Fleischman (2)
Common questions
- How many 1990s books are assigned in 8th grade?
- 74 books written between 1990 and 1999 appear on 8th grade reading lists tracked by ReadingList. Each one is cited from a state department of education, district list, or AP/IB syllabus.
- What Lexile range do these 1990s books cover?
- Lexile measures for the 1990s titles assigned in 8th grade run from 670L to 1000L. Poetry, drama, and graphic novels without a published Lexile measure are not counted in that range.
- Are these assigned nationally or in a few states?
- 30 states assign at least one 1990s title at 8th grade in the lists tracked here, so this is a broad pattern rather than a single state's canon. Per-state lists are on each state page.