New Hampshire 5th grade reading list

The 751 books most commonly assigned to New Hampshire 5th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books751Lexile410L–1020LSourceNH College & Career Ready 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 New Hampshire 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in New Hampshire’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. Brown Girl Dreaming

    Jacqueline Woodson

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers identity, family and civil rights. At 990L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire 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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  3. Matilda

    Roald Dahl

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers intelligence, overcoming neglect and teacher-student bond. At 840L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  4. Number the Stars

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, friendship and Holocaust. At 670L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  5. The Graveyard Book

    Neil Gaiman

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire 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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  6. The One and Only Ivan

    Katherine Applegate

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers animal welfare, captivity and freedom, friendship across species. At 570L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  7. The War That Saved My Life

    Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers war, resilience and disability. At 580L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  8. A Mango-Shaped Space

    Wendy Mass

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

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  9. Before the Ever After

    Jacqueline Woodson

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

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  10. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire 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 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  11. Esperanza Rising

    Pam Muñoz Ryan

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers Mexican-American immigration, Great Depression and labor history. At 750L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  12. Fish in a Tree

    Lynda Mullaly Hunt

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, friendship and school. At 550L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  13. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire 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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  14. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire 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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  15. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire 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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  16. Swim Team

    Johnnie Christmas

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers perseverance, friendship and race.

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  17. The Penderwicks

    Jeanne Birdsall

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

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  18. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

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

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  19. Where the Red Fern Grows

    Wilson Rawls

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers boy-and-dog bond, rural self-reliance and perseverance. At 700L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  20. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire 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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  21. Wonderstruck

    Brian Selznick

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

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  22. A Long Walk to Water

    Linda Sue Park

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, perseverance and war. At 720L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  23. A Night Divided

    Jennifer A. Nielsen

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers courage, freedom and family.

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  24. A Rover's Story

    Jasmine Warga

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 5.

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  25. A Tale Dark and Grimm

    Adam Gidwitz

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

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  26. A Work in Progress

    Jarrett Lerner

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers mental health, identity and resilience.

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  27. Allies

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers war, courage and sacrifice.

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  28. Amal Unbound

    Aisha Saeed

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers justice, education and courage.

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  29. Among the Hidden

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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  30. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 New Hampshire 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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751 books cited for New Hampshire 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to New Hampshire’s NH College & Career Ready Standards or national curricula with a New Hampshire-specific citation.

Show all 751 titles

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

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Other New Hampshire 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

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About the New Hampshire 5th grade reading list

In New Hampshire schools, 5th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from NH College & Career Ready Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 751 titles for 5th grade in New Hampshire, each tied to a New Hampshire-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 59 titles here with a Lexile score 34 are grade-level, 24 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.

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