# 3rd grade books about courage

**32** books commonly assigned to 3rd grade students in US schools that explore courage. Every title's grade range covers 3rd 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 3rd grade band is 420–820L (Common Core Appendix A). Of the 5 titles here with a Lexile score, 3 are grade-level, 0 more accessible, and 2 a stretch.

**Grade:** 3rd grade  ·  **Theme:** courage
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/grade/3/courage
**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

## 3rd grade courage reading list

- [Bea and the New Deal Horse](https://readinglist.school/book/bea-and-the-new-deal-horse) by L. M. Elliott _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2023)_
- [Because of You, John Lewis](https://readinglist.school/book/because-of-you-john-lewis) by Andrea Davis Pinkney _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2023)_
- [Dogtown](https://readinglist.school/book/dogtown) by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight](https://readinglist.school/book/dona-quixote-rise-of-the-knight) by Rey Terciero _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust](https://readinglist.school/book/hidden-hope) by Elisa Boxer _(Grades 2–5 · pub 2023)_
- [Hoops](https://readinglist.school/book/hoops-tavares) by Matt Tavares _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2023)_
- [How to Eat Fried Worms](https://readinglist.school/book/how-to-eat-fried-worms) by Thomas Rockwell _(Grades 3–6 · pub 1973)_
- [I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912](https://readinglist.school/book/i-survived-the-sinking-of-the-titanic-1912) by Lauren Tarshis _(590L · Grades 2–5 · pub 2010)_
- [Iceberg](https://readinglist.school/book/iceberg) by Jennifer A. Nielsen _(Grades 3–7 · pub 2023)_
- [It Came from the Trees](https://readinglist.school/book/it-came-from-the-trees) by Ally Russell _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2024)_
- [Just Like Millie](https://readinglist.school/book/just-like-millie) by Lauren Castillo _(Grades K–3 · pub 2024)_
- [Knight Owl](https://readinglist.school/book/knight-owl) by Christopher Denise _(Grades K–3 · pub 2022)_
- [Knight Owl and Early Bird](https://readinglist.school/book/knight-owl-and-early-bird) by Christopher Denise _(Grades K–3 · pub 2024)_
- [Misfit Mansion](https://readinglist.school/book/misfit-mansion) by Kay Davault _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2023)_
- [My Father's Dragon](https://readinglist.school/book/my-fathers-dragon) by Ruth Stiles Gannett _(990L · Grades 2–4 · pub 1948)_
- [My Teacher Is an Alien](https://readinglist.school/book/my-teacher-is-an-alien) by Bruce Coville _(Grades 3–6 · pub 1989)_
- [Nimbus](https://readinglist.school/book/nimbus) by Jan Eldredge _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [Punycorn](https://readinglist.school/book/punycorn) by Andi Watson _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2023)_
- [Shiloh](https://readinglist.school/book/shiloh) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor _(890L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1991)_
- [Stuntboy, In-Between Time](https://readinglist.school/book/stuntboy-in-between-time) by Jason Reynolds _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [Swim Team](https://readinglist.school/book/swim-team) by Johnnie Christmas _(Grades 3–7 · pub 2022)_
- [The BFG](https://readinglist.school/book/the-bfg) by Roald Dahl _(720L · Grades 3–6 · pub 1982)_
- [The Boy at the Back of the Class](https://readinglist.school/book/the-boy-at-the-back-of-the-class) by Onjali Q. Raúf _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2018)_
- [The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1)](https://readinglist.school/book/the-guardian-test) by Christina Soontornvat _(Grades 2–5 · pub 2023)_
- [The House at the Edge of Magic](https://readinglist.school/book/the-house-at-the-edge-of-magic) by Amy Sparkes _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2021)_
- [The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale](https://readinglist.school/book/the-skull) by Jon Klassen _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2023)_
- [The Tale of Despereaux](https://readinglist.school/book/the-tale-of-despereaux) by Kate DiCamillo _(670L · Grades 3–6 · pub 2003)_
- [The Trumpet of the Swan](https://readinglist.school/book/the-trumpet-of-the-swan) by E.B. White _(Grades 3–6 · pub 1970)_
- [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 Witching Wind](https://readinglist.school/book/the-witching-wind) by Natalie Lloyd _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2024)_
- [Witchlings](https://readinglist.school/book/witchlings) by Claribel A. Ortega _(Grades 2–5 · pub 2022)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. HTML view: https://readinglist.school/grade/3/courage._