# 5th grade books about courage

**56** books commonly assigned to 5th grade students in US schools that explore courage. 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 9 titles here with a Lexile score, 4 are grade-level, 5 more accessible, and 0 a stretch.

**Grade:** 5th grade  ·  **Theme:** courage
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/grade/5/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

## 5th grade courage reading list

- [A Night Divided](https://readinglist.school/book/a-night-divided) by Jennifer A. Nielsen _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2015)_
- [A Tale Dark and Grimm](https://readinglist.school/book/a-tale-dark-and-grimm) by Adam Gidwitz _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2010)_
- [Allies](https://readinglist.school/book/allies) by Alan Gratz _(Grades 5–9 · pub 2019)_
- [Amal Unbound](https://readinglist.school/book/amal-unbound) by Aisha Saeed _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2018)_
- [Amari and the Night Brothers](https://readinglist.school/book/amari-and-the-night-brothers) by B. B. Alston _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2022)_
- [Amir and the Jinn Princess](https://readinglist.school/book/amir-and-the-jinn-princess) by M. T. Khan _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [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)_
- [Code Name Kingfisher](https://readinglist.school/book/code-name-kingfisher) by Liz Kessler _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [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)_
- [Echo](https://readinglist.school/book/echo) by Pam Muñoz Ryan _(680L · Grades 5–8 · pub 2015)_
- [Ella Enchanted](https://readinglist.school/book/ella-enchanted) by Gail Carson Levine _(Grades 4–7 · pub 1997)_
- [Fablehaven](https://readinglist.school/book/fablehaven) by Brandon Mull _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2006)_
- [Gregor the Overlander](https://readinglist.school/book/gregor-the-overlander) by Suzanne Collins _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2003)_
- [Guts](https://readinglist.school/book/guts) by Raina Telgemeier _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2019)_
- [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone](https://readinglist.school/book/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone) by J.K. Rowling _(880L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1997)_
- [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)_
- [Impossible Creatures](https://readinglist.school/book/impossible-creatures) by Katherine Rundell _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2023)_
- [It Came from the Trees](https://readinglist.school/book/it-came-from-the-trees) by Ally Russell _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2024)_
- [Misfit Mansion](https://readinglist.school/book/misfit-mansion) by Kay Davault _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2023)_
- [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)_
- [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)_
- [Number the Stars](https://readinglist.school/book/number-the-stars) by Lois Lowry _(670L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1989)_
- [Old Yeller](https://readinglist.school/book/old-yeller) by Fred Gipson _(Grades 5–8 · pub 1956)_
- [Projekt 1065](https://readinglist.school/book/projekt-1065) by Alan Gratz _(Grades 5–9 · pub 2016)_
- [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)_
- [Stormbreaker](https://readinglist.school/book/stormbreaker) by Anthony Horowitz _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2016)_
- [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 Cay](https://readinglist.school/book/the-cay) by Theodore Taylor _(Grades 5–8 · pub 1969)_
- [The False Prince](https://readinglist.school/book/the-false-prince) by Jennifer A. Nielsen _(Grades 5–9 · pub 2012)_
- [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 Last Musketeer](https://readinglist.school/book/the-last-musketeer) by Stuart Gibbs _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2011)_
- [The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe](https://readinglist.school/book/the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe) by C.S. Lewis _(940L · Grades 4–7 · pub 1950)_
- [The Night Train](https://readinglist.school/book/the-night-train) by Lorelei Savaryn _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [The River](https://readinglist.school/book/the-river) by Gary Paulsen _(Grades 5–8 · pub 1991)_
- [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)_
- [Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky](https://readinglist.school/book/tristan-strong-punches-a-hole-in-the-sky) by Kwame Mbalia _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2022)_
- [Two Degrees](https://readinglist.school/book/two-degrees) by Alan Gratz _(Grades 5–8 · pub 2022)_
- [Willa of the Wood](https://readinglist.school/book/willa-of-the-wood) by Robert Beatty _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2018)_
- [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/5/courage._