Nebraska 6th grade reading list

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

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Books609Lexile360L–1120LSourceNebraska 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 Nebraska 6th grade

These are the 23 titles named in Nebraska’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 War That Saved My Life

    Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers war, resilience and disability. At 580L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  2. Stepping on the Cracks

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  3. The Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Nebraska 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.

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

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers Greek mythology, neurodivergence (dyslexia, ADHD) and friendship. At 740L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  5. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Nebraska 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.

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  6. Deep and Dark and Dangerous

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  7. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  8. Escaping the Giant Wave

    Peg Kehret

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

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  9. Ghost Boys

    Jewell Parker Rhodes

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, justice and family. At 360L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  10. Legend

    Marie Lu

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers dystopia, justice and loyalty.

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  11. Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade

    Barthe DeClements

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

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  12. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers identity, bullying and memory. At 730L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  13. Stolen Children

    Peg Kehret

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

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  14. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

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

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  15. The Best School Year Ever

    Barbara Robinson

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers humor, family and school.

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  16. The False Prince

    Jennifer A. Nielsen

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers identity, adventure and power.

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  17. The Hunger Games

    Suzanne Collins

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers authoritarianism, survival, media and spectacle. At 810L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  18. The Old Willis Place

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  19. The World According to Humphrey

    Betty G. Birney

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

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

    Louis Sachar

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

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  21. Touching Spirit Bear

    Ben Mikaelsen

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers survival, nature and courage.

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  22. Two Degrees

    Alan Gratz

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

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  23. Wait Till Helen Comes

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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609 books cited for Nebraska 6th grade

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

Show all 609 titles

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Other Nebraska 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 Nebraska 6th grade reading list

In Nebraska schools, 6th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Nebraska 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 609 titles for 6th grade in Nebraska, each tied to a Nebraska-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 360L–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 54 titles here with a Lexile score 7 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.

Nebraska’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Nebraska ELA Standards (education.ne.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 6th grade list below blends Nebraska-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 Nebraska-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 Nebraska?
609 books appear on ReadingList for 6th grade students in Nebraska, sourced from Nebraska ELA Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 6th grade reading in Nebraska?
Lexile measures across the 6th grade Nebraska reading list range from 360L 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 Nebraska ELA Standards (published at www.education.ne.gov) plus national curricula that apply to Nebraska 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.ne.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.