Oklahoma 5th grade reading list

The 754 books most commonly assigned to Oklahoma 5th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books754Lexile410L–1020LSourceOklahoma 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 Oklahoma 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Oklahoma’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. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers fate vs choice, friendship and justice. At 660L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. The Crossover

    Kwame Alexander

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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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  3. The One and Only Ivan

    Katherine Applegate

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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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  4. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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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  5. The War That Saved My Life

    Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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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  6. Walk Two Moons

    Sharon Creech

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 7. Covers grief, family and identity. At 770L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  7. A Wrinkle in Time

    Madeleine L'Engle

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 7. Covers good vs evil, scientific imagination and individuality. At 740L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  8. After Ever After

    Jordan Sonnenblick

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

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  9. Dear Mr. Henshaw

    Beverly Cleary

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers family, identity and growing up.

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  10. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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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  11. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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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  12. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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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  13. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

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

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  14. A Game of Noctis

    Deva Fagan

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers adventure, ambition and fantasy.

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  15. A Royal Conundrum

    Lisa Yee

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

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  16. A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

    Jasmine Warga

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers mystery, friendship and art.

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  17. All the Lovely Bad Ones

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  18. Allies

    Alan Gratz

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

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  19. Beanie the Bansheenie

    Eoin Colfer

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers fantasy, humor and identity.

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  20. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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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  21. Bunnicula

    Deborah Howe

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

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  22. Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos

    Nathalie Alonso

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers biography, baseball and perseverance.

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  23. Countdown to Yesterday

    Shirley Marr

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, change and family.

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  24. Dog Trouble: A Graphic Novel

    Kristin Varner

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers pets, moving and responsibility.

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  25. Dogtown

    Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, perseverance and humor.

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  26. Ferris

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers family, humor and growing up.

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  27. Fowl Play

    Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers mystery, family and grief.

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  28. Front Desk

    Kelly Yang

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers immigration, family and race. At 640L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  29. Harriet the Spy

    Louise Fitzhugh

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, identity and growing up.

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  30. How to Eat Fried Worms

    Thomas Rockwell

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

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754 books cited for Oklahoma 5th grade

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

Show all 754 titles

Reading the whole Oklahoma 5th 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 5th grade reading list

In Oklahoma schools, 5th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Oklahoma 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 754 titles for 5th grade in Oklahoma, each tied to a Oklahoma-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 29 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.

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