Delaware 5th grade reading list

The 734 books most commonly assigned to Delaware 5th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books734Lexile410L–1020LSourceDelaware ELA Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned nationally: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Elementary (K–5) titles appearing in the most states are Wonder (29 states), Because of Winn-Dixie (26 states), and Shiloh (25 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Start here — most-cited for Delaware 5th grade

These are the 20 titles named in Delaware’s own curriculum documents for this grade — everything below is the wider national list. Read against the Common Core Appendix A complexity band; reading level is not thematic maturity, and several sit below the band because they are assigned for discussion.

  1. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers courage, forgiveness and light vs dark. At 670L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Gold)

    Natalie Lloyd

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 10.

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  3. Clementine

    Sara Pennypacker

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  4. Ghost Knight

    Cornelia Funke

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 10.

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  5. A Season of Gifts

    Richard Peck

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers neighbors, humorous stories and nineteen fifties.

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  6. Amari and the Night Brothers

    B. B. Alston

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers magic, family and courage.

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  7. Artemis Fowl

    Eoin Colfer

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  8. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers loss, friendship and mother absence. At 610L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  9. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  10. Girl in a Cage

    Jane Yolen

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers princesses, childhood and youth, history.

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  11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

    J.K. Rowling

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, courage and good vs evil. At 880L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  12. Million-Dollar Throw

    Mike Lupica

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers football, pressure and friendship.

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  13. Nightmare at the Book Fair

    Dan Gutman

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers action & adventure - general.

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  14. No Talking

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  15. Project Mulberry

    Linda Sue Park

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers family life, prejudices and silkworms.

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  16. The Library of Ever

    Zeno Alexander

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  17. The Sword of Summer

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers action, myths and novel.

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  18. The Wishing Spell

    Chris Colfer

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers fairy tales, characters in literature and magic.

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  19. Wat Takes His Shot

    Cheryl Kim

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  20. Your Place in the Universe

    Jason Chin

    Cited in 1 Delaware curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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734 books cited for Delaware 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to Delaware’s Delaware ELA Standards or national curricula with a Delaware-specific citation.

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Other Delaware grades

4th grade · 6th grade · 3rd grade · 7th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

4th grade · 6th grade · 3rd grade · 7th grade

Same 5th grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois

Browse 5th grade reading by theme

About the Delaware 5th grade reading list

In Delaware schools, 5th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Delaware ELA Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 734 titles for 5th grade in Delaware, each tied to a Delaware-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1020L.

5th grade sits in the 3-5 grade band, where students are transitional readers. At this stage the emphasis is on shifting from learning-to-read to reading-to-learn and sustaining attention across longer chapter books. Assigned reading skews toward early novels, narrative non-fiction, and a student's first assigned full-length stories, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 400L to 800L. Measured against that 740–1010L range, of the 51 titles here with a Lexile score 29 are grade-level, 21 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 1 is a stretch text that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 5th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Delaware’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Delaware ELA Standards (doe.k12.de.us). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 5th grade list below blends Delaware-specific assignments with the widely-taught national canon. Every title links to its primary source on the book’s detail page, so you can confirm exactly where and why it is assigned.

How to use this list:match a title to your child’s most recent Lexile or guided-reading level rather than to the grade alone. Teachers building a 5th grade unit can pair a Delaware-cited core text with a grade-appropriate companion novel; parents previewing summer or supplemental reading can check each book’s content notes and challenge history before assigning it.

Common questions

How many books are assigned to 5th grade students in Delaware?
734 books appear on ReadingList for 5th grade students in Delaware, sourced from Delaware ELA Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Delaware?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Delaware reading list range from 410L to 1020L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Entries reference Delaware ELA Standards (published at www.doe.k12.de.us) plus national curricula that apply to Delaware schools: Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English Literature and Language, IB Diploma Programme, and Cambridge Assessment International. Every assignment row on each book's detail page links its primary source.

Reading guides for parents

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State-specific entries sourced from www.doe.k12.de.us. National references cited on each book’s detail page.