Kentucky 5th grade reading list

The 758 books most commonly assigned to Kentucky 5th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books758Lexile390L–1020LSourceKentucky 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 Kentucky 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Kentucky’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 Crossover

    Kwame Alexander

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, brotherhood and basketball. At 750L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. The Graveyard Book

    Neil Gaiman

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers found family, the supernatural and the living, coming of age. At 820L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  3. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Kentucky 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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  4. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers running, family violence and mentorship. At 730L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  5. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Kentucky 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 Invention of Hugo Cabret

    Brian Selznick

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

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  7. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

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

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  8. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

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

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  9. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Kentucky 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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  10. A Corner of the Universe

    Ann M. Martin

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, mental illness and growing up.

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  11. A Tale Dark and Grimm

    Adam Gidwitz

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers fairy tales, courage and siblings.

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  12. Albert

    Donna Jo Napoli

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers birds, nests and birds, fiction.

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  13. Allergic

    Megan Wagner Lloyd

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers new york times reviewed and comic books, strips, etc..

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  14. Alone

    Megan E. Freeman

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

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  15. Avalon High

    Meg Cabot

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers arthur, in fiction, high schools and high schools in fiction.

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  16. Big Nate: In a Class by Himself

    Lincoln Peirce

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers humor, school and friendship. At 500L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  17. Black Brother, Black Brother

    Jewell Parker Rhodes

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers racism, identity and justice.

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  18. Call Me Hope

    Gretchen Olson

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers child abuse, stress (physiology) and schools.

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  19. City of Ghosts

    Victoria Schwab

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

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  20. Class Clown

    Johanna Hurwitz

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers schools, behavior and behavior, fiction.

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  21. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers school, friendship and family. At 950L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  22. Dog Man

    Dav Pilkey

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers humor, friendship and good vs evil. At 390L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  23. Duke

    Kirby Larson

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers german shepherd dog, war use and world war, 1939-1945.

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  24. Game Changer

    Tommy Greenwald

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers football, injury and truth.

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  25. Giants Beware

    Jorge Aguirre

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers graphic novels, fairy tales and giants.

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  26. Knocked Out by Nunga-Nungas

    Louise Rennison

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers diaries, humor (fiction) and humorous stories.

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  27. Max and the Midknights

    Lincoln Peirce

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers adventure, humor and identity.

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  28. Million-Dollar Throw

    Mike Lupica

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

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  29. Odder

    Katherine Applegate

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

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  30. Piggie Pie!

    Margie Palatini

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers humorous stories, witches and domestic animals.

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758 books cited for Kentucky 5th grade

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

Show all 758 titles

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

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Other Kentucky 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 Kentucky 5th grade reading list

In Kentucky schools, 5th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Kentucky 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 758 titles for 5th grade in Kentucky, each tied to a Kentucky-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 390L–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 52 titles here with a Lexile score 29 are grade-level, 22 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.

Kentucky’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Kentucky Academic Standards (education.ky.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 5th grade list below blends Kentucky-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 Kentucky-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 Kentucky?
758 books appear on ReadingList for 5th grade students in Kentucky, sourced from Kentucky Academic Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Kentucky?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Kentucky reading list range from 390L 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 Kentucky Academic Standards (published at www.education.ky.gov) plus national curricula that apply to Kentucky 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.education.ky.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.