# 5th grade Middle Grade Fiction books

**61** middle grade fiction books commonly assigned to 5th grade students in US schools. Every title's grade range covers 5th grade, so each is grade-appropriate by curriculum placement. Sourced from Common Core exemplars, AP, IB, Cambridge, and 50 state ELA curricula.

**Reading difficulty:** the typical 5th grade band is 740–1010L (Common Core Appendix A). Of the 32 titles here with a Lexile score, 17 are grade-level, 15 more accessible, and 0 a stretch.

**Grade:** 5th grade  ·  **Genre:** Middle Grade Fiction
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/genre/middle-grade-fiction/grade/5
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.
**Primary source — Common Core ELA exemplars:** https://achievethecore.org/page/2699

## 5th grade Middle Grade Fiction reading list

- [Because of Winn-Dixie](https://readinglist.school/book/because-of-winn-dixie) by Kate DiCamillo _(610L · Grades 3–5 · pub 2000)_
- [Between Two Brothers](https://readinglist.school/book/between-two-brothers) by Crystal Allen _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Blended](https://readinglist.school/book/blended) by Sharon M. Draper _(610L · Grades 3–7 · pub 2018)_
- [Boy 2.0](https://readinglist.school/book/boy-2-0) by Tracey Baptiste _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Charlie and the Chocolate Factory](https://readinglist.school/book/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory) by Roald Dahl _(810L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1964)_
- [Countdown to Yesterday](https://readinglist.school/book/countdown-to-yesterday) by Shirley Marr _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2024)_
- [Diary of a Wimpy Kid](https://readinglist.school/book/diary-of-a-wimpy-kid) by Jeff Kinney _(950L · Grades 3–7 · pub 2007)_
- [Fish in a Tree](https://readinglist.school/book/fish-in-a-tree) by Lynda Mullaly Hunt _(550L · Grades 4–7 · pub 2015)_
- [Frindle](https://readinglist.school/book/frindle) by Andrew Clements _(830L · Grades 3–7 · pub 1996)_
- [Grounded](https://readinglist.school/book/grounded-airport) by Aisha Saeed, S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Huda Al-Marashi _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2023)_
- [Harriet the Spy](https://readinglist.school/book/harriet-the-spy) by Louise Fitzhugh _(Grades 4–7 · pub 1964)_
- [Hello, Universe](https://readinglist.school/book/hello-universe) by Erin Entrada Kelly _(690L · Grades 3–7 · pub 2017)_
- [Holes](https://readinglist.school/book/holes) by Louis Sachar _(660L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1998)_
- [J vs. K](https://readinglist.school/book/j-vs-k) by Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2025)_
- [James and the Giant Peach](https://readinglist.school/book/james-and-the-giant-peach) by Roald Dahl _(870L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1961)_
- [Jawbreaker](https://readinglist.school/book/jawbreaker) by Christina Wyman _(Grades 3–7 · pub 2023)_
- [Just Keep Walking](https://readinglist.school/book/just-keep-walking) by Erin Soderberg Downing _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2024)_
- [Maniac Magee](https://readinglist.school/book/maniac-magee) by Jerry Spinelli _(820L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1990)_
- [Matilda](https://readinglist.school/book/matilda) by Roald Dahl _(840L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1988)_
- [Merci Suárez Changes Gears](https://readinglist.school/book/merci-suarez-changes-gears) by Meg Medina _(700L · Grades 4–7 · pub 2018)_
- [Mid-Air](https://readinglist.school/book/mid-air) by Alicia D. Williams _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Mr. Popper's Penguins](https://readinglist.school/book/mr-poppers-penguins) by Richard Atwater · Florence Atwater _(910L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1938)_
- [Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH](https://readinglist.school/book/mrs-frisby-and-the-rats-of-nimh) by Robert C. O'Brien _(790L · Grades 4–6 · pub 1971)_
- [Not Nothing](https://readinglist.school/book/not-nothing) by Gayle Forman _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Old Yeller](https://readinglist.school/book/old-yeller) by Fred Gipson _(Grades 5–8 · pub 1956)_
- [Oliver's Great Big Universe](https://readinglist.school/book/olivers-great-big-universe) by Jorge Cham _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [Onyx & Beyond](https://readinglist.school/book/onyx-and-beyond) by Amber McBride _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2024)_
- [Operation Final Notice](https://readinglist.school/book/operation-final-notice) by Matthew Landis _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2022)_
- [Out of My Mind](https://readinglist.school/book/out-of-my-mind) by Sharon M. Draper _(700L · Grades 4–7 · pub 2010)_
- [Pax](https://readinglist.school/book/pax) by Sara Pennypacker _(760L · Grades 4–7 · pub 2016)_
- [Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet](https://readinglist.school/book/planet-omar-accidental-trouble-magnet) by Zanib Mian _(820L · Grades 3–6 · pub 2019)_
- [Popcorn](https://readinglist.school/book/popcorn-harrell) by Rob Harrell _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Puzzleheart](https://readinglist.school/book/puzzleheart) by Jenn Reese _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Ramona Quimby, Age 8](https://readinglist.school/book/ramona-quimby-age-8) by Beverly Cleary _(860L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1981)_
- [Rascal](https://readinglist.school/book/rascal) by Sterling North _(Grades 5–8 · pub 1963)_
- [Restart](https://readinglist.school/book/restart) by Gordon Korman _(730L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2017)_
- [Rewind](https://readinglist.school/book/rewind-graff) by Lisa Graff _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2023)_
- [Roll for Initiative](https://readinglist.school/book/roll-for-initiative) by Jaime Formato _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2022)_
- [Stone Fox](https://readinglist.school/book/stone-fox) by John Reynolds Gardiner _(550L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1980)_
- [Stuart Little](https://readinglist.school/book/stuart-little) by E.B. White _(920L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1945)_
- [Summer of the Monkeys](https://readinglist.school/book/summer-of-the-monkeys) by Wilson Rawls _(Grades 4–7 · pub 1976)_
- [Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing](https://readinglist.school/book/tales-of-a-fourth-grade-nothing) by Judy Blume _(470L · Grades 2–5 · pub 1972)_
- [The 13-Story Treehouse](https://readinglist.school/book/the-13-story-treehouse) by Andy Griffiths _(560L · Grades 2–5 · pub 2011)_
- [The Adventures of Captain Underpants](https://readinglist.school/book/the-adventures-of-captain-underpants) by Dav Pilkey _(720L · Grades 2–5 · pub 1997)_
- [The BFG](https://readinglist.school/book/the-bfg) by Roald Dahl _(720L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1982)_
- [The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1)](https://readinglist.school/book/the-bad-beginning) by Lemony Snicket _(1010L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1999)_
- [The Cricket in Times Square](https://readinglist.school/book/the-cricket-in-times-square) by George Selden _(780L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1960)_
- [The Firefly Summer](https://readinglist.school/book/the-firefly-summer) by Morgan Matson _(Grades 3–7 · pub 2024)_
- [The Hundred Dresses](https://readinglist.school/book/the-hundred-dresses) by Eleanor Estes _(870L · Grades 3–5 · pub 1944)_
- [The Labors of Hercules Beal](https://readinglist.school/book/the-labors-of-hercules-beal) by Gary D. Schmidt _(Grades 3–7 · pub 2023)_
- [The One and Only Ruby](https://readinglist.school/book/the-one-and-only-ruby) by Katherine Applegate _(Grades 2–5 · pub 2023)_
- [The Partition Project](https://readinglist.school/book/the-partition-project) by Saadia Faruqi _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [The Season of Styx Malone](https://readinglist.school/book/the-season-of-styx-malone) by Kekla Magoon _(510L · Grades 3–7 · pub 2018)_
- [The Superteacher Project](https://readinglist.school/book/the-superteacher-project) by Gordon Korman _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [The Whipping Boy](https://readinglist.school/book/the-whipping-boy) by Sid Fleischman _(Grades 3–7 · pub 1986)_
- [The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry](https://readinglist.school/book/the-wild-journey-of-juniper-berry) by Chad Morris _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2025)_
- [The Wild Robot](https://readinglist.school/book/the-wild-robot) by Peter Brown _(740L · Grades 4–6 · pub 2016)_
- [The Wrong Way Home](https://readinglist.school/book/the-wrong-way-home) by Kate O'Shaughnessy _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [When Sea Becomes Sky](https://readinglist.school/book/when-sea-becomes-sky) by Gillian McDunn _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [Wishtree](https://readinglist.school/book/wishtree) by Katherine Applegate _(590L · Grades 3–6 · pub 2017)_
- [Wonder](https://readinglist.school/book/wonder) by R.J. Palacio _(790L · Grades 3–7 · pub 2012)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. HTML view: https://readinglist.school/genre/middle-grade-fiction/grade/5._