# Realistic Fiction books about family

**25** realistic fiction books that explore family, drawn from the US-school assigned-reading canon. Sourced from Common Core exemplars, AP, IB, Cambridge, and 50 state ELA curricula.

**Reading levels:** Lexile measures range from 360L to 890L across these 25 titles.

**Genre:** Realistic Fiction  ·  **Theme:** family
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/genre/realistic-fiction/theme/family
**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

## Realistic Fiction family reading list

- [A Boy Called Bat](https://readinglist.school/book/a-boy-called-bat) by Elana K. Arnold _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2017)_
- [Crenshaw](https://readinglist.school/book/crenshaw) by Katherine Applegate _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2015)_
- [Dear Mr. Henshaw](https://readinglist.school/book/dear-mr-henshaw) by Beverly Cleary _(Grades 4–6 · pub 1983)_
- [Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie](https://readinglist.school/book/drums-girls-and-dangerous-pie) by Jordan Sonnenblick _(Grades 6–9 · pub 2010)_
- [Ferris](https://readinglist.school/book/ferris) by Kate DiCamillo _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2024)_
- [Forged by Fire](https://readinglist.school/book/forged-by-fire) by Sharon M. Draper _(Grades 7–10 · pub 2009)_
- [Front Desk](https://readinglist.school/book/front-desk) by Kelly Yang _(640L · Grades 3–7 · pub 2018)_
- [Ghost Boys](https://readinglist.school/book/ghost-boys) by Jewell Parker Rhodes _(360L · Grades 4–7 · pub 2018)_
- [Hope in the Valley](https://readinglist.school/book/hope-in-the-valley) by Mitali Perkins _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2025)_
- [Invisible Isabel](https://readinglist.school/book/invisible-isabel) by Sally J. Pla _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2024)_
- [Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All](https://readinglist.school/book/magnolia-wu-unfolds-it-all) by Chanel Miller _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2024)_
- [Mick Harte Was Here](https://readinglist.school/book/mick-harte-was-here) by Barbara Park _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2011)_
- [Ruby Lost and Found](https://readinglist.school/book/ruby-lost-and-found) by Christina Li _(Grades 6–9 · pub 2023)_
- [Shiloh](https://readinglist.school/book/shiloh) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor _(890L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1991)_
- [So B. It](https://readinglist.school/book/so-b-it) by Sarah Weeks _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2009)_
- [Stand Up, Yumi Chung](https://readinglist.school/book/stand-up-yumi-chung) by Jessica Kim _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2021)_
- [Stuck in Neutral](https://readinglist.school/book/stuck-in-neutral) by Terry Trueman _(Grades 7–10 · pub 2014)_
- [Stuntboy, In-Between Time](https://readinglist.school/book/stuntboy-in-between-time) by Jason Reynolds _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [Surviving the Applewhites](https://readinglist.school/book/surviving-the-applewhites) by Stephanie S. Tolan _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2009)_
- [The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise](https://readinglist.school/book/the-remarkable-journey-of-coyote-sunrise) by Dan Gemeinhart _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2019)_
- [The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants](https://readinglist.school/book/the-sisterhood-of-the-traveling-pants) by Ann Brashares _(Grades 7–10 · pub 2001)_
- [The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman](https://readinglist.school/book/the-tenth-mistake-of-hank-hooperman) by Gennifer Choldenko _(Grades 6–9 · pub 2024)_
- [The Thing About Leftovers](https://readinglist.school/book/the-thing-about-leftovers) by C.C. Payne _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2016)_
- [The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street](https://readinglist.school/book/the-vanderbeekers-of-141st-street) by Karina Yan Glaser _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2017)_
- [Walk Two Moons](https://readinglist.school/book/walk-two-moons) by Sharon Creech _(770L · Grades 5–7 · pub 1994)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. HTML view: https://readinglist.school/genre/realistic-fiction/theme/family._