Michigan 7th grade reading list

The 663 books most commonly assigned to Michigan 7th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books663Lexile360L–1300LSourceMichigan ELA 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 Michigan 7th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Michigan’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. One Crazy Summer

    Rita Williams-Garcia

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, race and civil rights. At 750L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  2. When You Reach Me

    Rebecca Stead

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers time travel (speculative), friendship and 1970s NYC. At 750L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  3. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

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  4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

    Sherman Alexie

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers Native American identity, poverty and racism. At 600L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  5. The Crossover

    Kwame Alexander

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, brotherhood and basketball. At 750L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  6. The Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 2 national references, 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.

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  7. A Mango-Shaped Space

    Wendy Mass

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8.

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  8. Blended

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers family, race and identity. At 610L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  9. Clementine

    Sara Pennypacker

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

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  10. Fish in a Tree

    Lynda Mullaly Hunt

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, friendship and school. At 550L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  11. Flora and Ulysses

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  12. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 Michigan 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 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  13. Long Way Down

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 7 to 12. Covers grief, revenge and family. At 720L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  14. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, inclusion and intelligence. At 700L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  15. The One and Only Ivan

    Katherine Applegate

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers animal welfare, captivity and freedom, friendship across species. At 570L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  16. The Penderwicks

    Jeanne Birdsall

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  17. Unspeakable

    Carole Boston Weatherford

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

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  18. Walk Two Moons

    Sharon Creech

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 7. Covers grief, family and identity. At 770L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  19. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

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

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  20. Wonderstruck

    Brian Selznick

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  21. A Bad Case of Stripes

    David Shannon

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers individuality, popularity and ficción juvenil.

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  22. Adopted by an Owl

    Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers great horned owl, owls as pets and biography.

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  23. Amari and the Night Brothers

    B. B. Alston

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

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  24. Arnie, the Doughnut

    Laurie Keller

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers humorous stories and doughnuts.

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  25. Bink & Gollie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers humorous stories, adventure and adventurers, friendship.

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  26. Black Brother, Black Brother

    Jewell Parker Rhodes

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

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  27. Bone

    Jeff Smith

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers fantasy, cartoons and comics, cousins.

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  28. Class Act

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race, friendship and class.

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  29. Counting by 7s

    Holly Goldberg Sloan

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers realistic, autistic children and genius.

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  30. Dog Breath

    Dav Pilkey

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers humorous stories, dogs and bad breath.

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663 books cited for Michigan 7th grade

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

Show all 663 titles

Reading the whole Michigan 7th grade reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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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.

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Other Michigan grades

6th grade · 8th grade · 5th grade · 9th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

6th grade · 8th grade · 5th grade · 9th grade

Same 7th grade in other states

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

Browse 7th grade reading by theme

About the Michigan 7th grade reading list

In Michigan schools, 7th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Michigan 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 663 titles for 7th grade in Michigan, each tied to a Michigan-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 360L–1300L.

7th 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 58 titles here with a Lexile score 9 are grade-level, 48 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 1 is a stretch text that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 7th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Michigan’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Michigan ELA Standards (michigan.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 7th grade list below blends Michigan-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 7th grade unit can pair a Michigan-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 7th grade students in Michigan?
663 books appear on ReadingList for 7th grade students in Michigan, sourced from Michigan ELA Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 7th grade reading in Michigan?
Lexile measures across the 7th grade Michigan reading list range from 360L to 1300L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Entries reference Michigan ELA Standards (published at www.michigan.gov) plus national curricula that apply to Michigan 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.michigan.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.