Idaho 6th grade reading list

The 609 books most commonly assigned to Idaho 6th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Books609Lexile410L–1120LSourceIdaho Content Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned nationally: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Middle (6–8) titles appearing in the most states are The Giver (20 states), The Hunger Games (14 states), and Ground Zero (8 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Start here — most-cited for Idaho 6th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Idaho’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. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

    Get it on Amazon

  2. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers fate vs choice, friendship and justice. At 660L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  3. Maniac Magee

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, homelessness and family. At 820L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  4. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

    Robert C. O'Brien

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers family, courage, science and ethics. At 790L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  5. Bud, Not Buddy

    Christopher Paul Curtis

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers family, identity and perseverance. At 950L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  6. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers disability, friendship and self-acceptance. At 420L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  7. King of the Wind

    Marguerite Henry

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7.

    Get it on Amazon

  8. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

    Mildred D. Taylor

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers Jim Crow South, family and land, racial injustice. At 920L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  9. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers animal welfare, morality and family. At 890L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  10. The Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers conformity vs individuality, memory, utopia and dystopia. At 760L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  11. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers love, loss and journey.

    Get it on Amazon

  12. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers courage, forgiveness and light vs dark. At 670L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  13. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers refugees, family and hope.

    Get it on Amazon

  14. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  15. Blubber

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers bullying, friendship and school.

    Get it on Amazon

  16. Bunnicula

    Deborah Howe

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6.

    Get it on Amazon

  17. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers school, friendship and family. At 950L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  18. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

    Get it on Amazon

  19. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  20. Old Yeller

    Fred Gipson

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, courage and survival.

    Get it on Amazon

  21. Rascal

    Sterling North

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers nature, animals and family.

    Get it on Amazon

  22. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers refugees, survival and family. At 800L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  23. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, perseverance and growing up. At 440L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  24. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6.

    Get it on Amazon

  25. Swim Team

    Johnnie Christmas

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers perseverance, friendship and race.

    Get it on Amazon

  26. The Dollhouse Murders

    Betty Ren Wright

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers mystery, family and ghosts.

    Get it on Amazon

  27. The Indian in the Cupboard

    Lynne Reid Banks

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, responsibility and imagination.

    Get it on Amazon

  28. The Lost Hero

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Idaho curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers mythology, heroism and memory.

    Get it on Amazon

  29. The Thief Lord

    Cornelia Funke

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

    Get it on Amazon

  30. There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

    Louis Sachar

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

    Get it on Amazon

609 books cited for Idaho 6th grade

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

Show all 609 titles

Reading the whole Idaho 6th grade reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Know a parent or teacher who needs this? Share it:FacebookPinterest

Teacher or librarian? Print this list as a checklist — free to photocopy for your class or library (details).

Other Idaho grades

5th grade · 7th grade · 4th grade · 8th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

5th grade · 7th grade · 4th grade · 8th grade

Same 6th grade in other states

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

Browse 6th grade reading by theme

About the Idaho 6th grade reading list

In Idaho schools, 6th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Idaho Content Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 609 titles for 6th grade in Idaho, each tied to a Idaho-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1120L.

6th grade sits in the 6-8 grade band, where students are middle-grade readers. At this stage the emphasis is on analyzing theme, character, and author's craft across full-length novels and their first classics. Assigned reading skews toward full-length novels, plays, memoir, and frequently-challenged contemporary titles, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 700L to 1010L. Measured against that 925–1185L range, of the 55 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 47 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 0 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 6th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Idaho’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Idaho Content Standards (sde.idaho.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 6th grade list below blends Idaho-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 6th grade unit can pair a Idaho-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 6th grade students in Idaho?
609 books appear on ReadingList for 6th grade students in Idaho, sourced from Idaho Content Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 6th grade reading in Idaho?
Lexile measures across the 6th grade Idaho reading list range from 410L to 1120L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Entries reference Idaho Content Standards (published at www.sde.idaho.gov) plus national curricula that apply to Idaho 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

▸Embed this list on your site

Copy + paste this snippet into any school newsletter, classroom blog, library site, or homeschool resource page. The embed shows the top 12 titles and links back to the full list. Updates automatically when ReadingList’s data changes.

<iframe src="https://readinglist.school/embed/grade/6" width="100%" height="540" style="border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-radius:6px;max-width:640px" loading="lazy" title="6th grade reading list — ReadingList.school"></iframe>

Preview: /embed/grade/6 · License: CC BY 4.0 (please credit “ReadingList.school”).

Was this page helpful?

Browse by another angle

State-specific entries sourced from www.sde.idaho.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.