Utah 5th grade reading list

The 862 books most commonly assigned to Utah 5th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books862Lexile390L–1020LSourceUtah Core 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 Utah 5th grade

These are the 18 titles named in Utah’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. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document and 2 national references, 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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  2. Matilda

    Roald Dahl

    Cited in 1 Utah 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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  3. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers love, loss and journey.

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  4. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document and 2 national references, 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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  5. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  6. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

    Dusti Bowling

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  7. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Utah 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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  8. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, perseverance and growing up. At 440L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  9. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6.

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

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  11. Wait Till Helen Comes

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  12. Booked

    Kwame Alexander

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers soccer, words and family.

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  13. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers identity, bullying and memory. At 730L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  14. Ruby Holler

    Sharon Creech

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

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  15. Stone Fox

    John Reynolds Gardiner

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers family, determination and sacrifice. At 550L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  16. The City of Ember

    Jeanne DuPrau

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

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  17. The Superteacher Project

    Gordon Korman

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

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  18. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

    Grace Lin

    Cited in 1 Utah curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers family, folklore and adventure. At 810L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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18 books cited for Utah 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to Utah’s Utah Core Standards with a Utah-specific citation.

844 grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

Extra titles whose grade range covers 5th grade, drawn from the broader canon. These don't have a Utah-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 844 titles

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Other Utah 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 Utah 5th grade reading list

In Utah schools, 5th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Utah Core Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 862 titles for 5th grade in Utah, of which 18 carry a direct Utah citation and 844 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 5th grade. 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 60 titles here with a Lexile score 33 are grade-level, 26 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.

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