# 8th grade books about history

**19** books commonly assigned to 8th grade students in US schools that explore history. Every title's grade range covers 8th 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 8th grade band is 925–1185L (Common Core Appendix A). Of the 4 titles here with a Lexile score, 1 is grade-level, 3 more accessible, and 0 a stretch.

**Grade:** 8th grade  ·  **Theme:** history
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/grade/8/history
**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

## 8th grade history reading list

- [Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Art](https://readinglist.school/book/ancestory) by Hannah Salyer _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2023)_
- [Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon](https://readinglist.school/book/bomb) by Steve Sheinkin _(920L · Grades 6–9 · pub 2012)_
- [Code Name Kingfisher](https://readinglist.school/book/code-name-kingfisher) by Liz Kessler _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Fever 1793](https://readinglist.school/book/fever-1793) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(Grades 2–8 · pub 2000)_
- [Girl in a Cage](https://readinglist.school/book/girl-in-a-cage) by Jane Yolen _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2002)_
- [Here Comes the Garbage Barge](https://readinglist.school/book/here-comes-the-garbage-barge) by Jonah Winter _(Grades 2–8 · pub 2010)_
- [Heroes](https://readinglist.school/book/heroes) by Alan Gratz _(Grades 6–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens](https://readinglist.school/book/mountain-of-fire) by Rebecca E. Barone _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Not Nothing](https://readinglist.school/book/not-nothing) by Gayle Forman _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [Prisoner B-3087](https://readinglist.school/book/prisoner-b-3087) by Alan Gratz _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2013)_
- [Riding Freedom](https://readinglist.school/book/riding-freedom) by Pam Muñoz Ryan _(Grades 3–8 · pub 1998)_
- [The Apothecary](https://readinglist.school/book/the-apothecary) by Maile Meloy _(Grades 2–8 · pub 2011)_
- [The Devil's Arithmetic](https://readinglist.school/book/the-devils-arithmetic) by Jane Yolen _(730L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1988)_
- [The Fire of Stars](https://readinglist.school/book/the-fire-of-stars) by Kirsten W. Larson _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2023)_
- [The Lost Year](https://readinglist.school/book/the-lost-year) by Katherine Marsh _(Grades 6–8 · pub 2023)_
- [The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien](https://readinglist.school/book/the-mythmakers-lewis-tolkien) by John Hendrix _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [The Parker Inheritance](https://readinglist.school/book/the-parker-inheritance) by Varian Johnson _(610L · Grades 6–8 · pub 2018)_
- [The Partition Project](https://readinglist.school/book/the-partition-project) by Saadia Faruqi _(Grades 4–8 · pub 2024)_
- [The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963](https://readinglist.school/book/the-watsons-go-to-birmingham-1963) by Christopher Paul Curtis _(1000L · Grades 5–8 · pub 1995)_

---

_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. HTML view: https://readinglist.school/grade/8/history._