Indiana 5th grade reading list

The 741 books most commonly assigned to Indiana 5th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books741Lexile410L–1020LSourceIndiana Academic 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 Indiana 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Indiana’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 Indiana curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

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  2. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, resilience and self-reliance. At 1020L it runs above the 740–1010L band — a stretch text.

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  3. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, inclusion and intelligence. At 700L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  4. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers animal welfare, morality and family. At 890L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  5. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers growing up, friendship and self-acceptance. At 410L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  6. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers Greek mythology, neurodivergence (dyslexia, ADHD) and friendship. At 740L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  7. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  8. 11 Birthdays

    Wendy Mass

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  9. A Boy Called Bat

    Elana K. Arnold

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers neurodiversity, animals and family.

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  10. Abduction

    Peg Kehret

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

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  11. Among the Hidden

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers freedom, identity and resistance.

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  12. Because of Mr. Terupt

    Rob Buyea

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  13. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Indiana 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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  14. Cryptid Hunters

    Roland Smith

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

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  15. Ella Enchanted

    Gail Carson Levine

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, fairy-tale and independence.

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  16. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  17. Escaping the Giant Wave

    Peg Kehret

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

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  18. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  19. Gregor the Overlander

    Suzanne Collins

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

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  20. How to Steal a Dog

    Barbara O'Connor

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  21. Mick Harte Was Here

    Barbara Park

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers grief, family and safety.

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  22. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers refugees, survival and family. At 800L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  23. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers identity, bullying and memory. At 730L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  24. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, perseverance and growing up. At 440L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  25. Ruby Holler

    Sharon Creech

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  26. Saving Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers loyalty, forgiveness and community.

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  27. So B. It

    Sarah Weeks

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, identity and journey.

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  28. The City of Ember

    Jeanne DuPrau

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

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  29. Wait Till Helen Comes

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  30. Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger

    Louis Sachar

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

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741 books cited for Indiana 5th grade

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

Show all 741 titles

Reading the whole Indiana 5th grade reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Other Indiana 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 Indiana 5th grade reading list

In Indiana schools, 5th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Indiana Academic Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 741 titles for 5th grade in Indiana, each tied to a Indiana-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 54 titles here with a Lexile score 30 are grade-level, 23 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.

Indiana’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Indiana Academic Standards (in.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 5th grade list below blends Indiana-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 Indiana-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 Indiana?
741 books appear on ReadingList for 5th grade students in Indiana, sourced from Indiana Academic Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Indiana?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Indiana 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 Indiana Academic Standards (published at www.in.gov) plus national curricula that apply to Indiana 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.in.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.