# Books about family assigned in US schools

**49** books in the US-school assigned-reading canon explore _family_. Sourced from state ELA standards, AP/IB syllabi, and Common Core exemplar lists.

**Lexile range:** 470L–1300L
**Grade span:** K–12
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/theme/family
**Wikipedia (entity):** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## Authors who explore family

- [Beverly Cleary](https://readinglist.school/author/beverly-cleary) (2 books)
- [Christopher Paul Curtis](https://readinglist.school/author/christopher-paul-curtis) (2 books)
- [John Steinbeck](https://readinglist.school/author/john-steinbeck) (2 books)
- [Kwame Alexander](https://readinglist.school/author/kwame-alexander) (2 books)
- [Sharon M. Draper](https://readinglist.school/author/sharon-m-draper) (2 books)
- [E.B. White](https://readinglist.school/author/eb-white)
- [Jason Reynolds](https://readinglist.school/author/jason-reynolds)
- [Lois Lowry](https://readinglist.school/author/lois-lowry)

## family canon

- [Antigone](https://readinglist.school/book/antigone) by Sophocles _(Grades 9–12)_
- [Blended](https://readinglist.school/book/blended) by Sharon M. Draper _(610L · Grades 3–7)_
- [Brown Girl Dreaming](https://readinglist.school/book/brown-girl-dreaming) by Jacqueline Woodson _(990L · Grades 5–8)_
- [Bud, Not Buddy](https://readinglist.school/book/bud-not-buddy) by Christopher Paul Curtis _(950L · Grades 4–7)_
- [Diary of a Wimpy Kid](https://readinglist.school/book/diary-of-a-wimpy-kid) by Jeff Kinney _(950L · Grades 3–7)_
- [Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1)](https://readinglist.school/book/magic-tree-house-dinosaurs-before-dark) by Mary Pope Osborne _(510L · Grades 1–4)_
- [Dragonwings](https://readinglist.school/book/dragonwings) by Laurence Yep _(870L · Grades 6–8)_
- [Fences](https://readinglist.school/book/fences) by August Wilson _(Grades 9–12)_
- [Flat Stanley](https://readinglist.school/book/flat-stanley) by Jeff Brown _(540L · Grades 1–3)_
- [I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings](https://readinglist.school/book/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings) by Maya Angelou _(1070L · Grades 10–12)_
- [Inside Out & Back Again](https://readinglist.school/book/inside-out-and-back-again) by Thanhha Lai _(800L · Grades 4–8)_
- [King Lear](https://readinglist.school/book/king-lear) by William Shakespeare _(Grades 11–12)_
- [Little Women](https://readinglist.school/book/little-women) by Louisa May Alcott _(1300L · Grades 7–10)_
- [Long Way Down](https://readinglist.school/book/long-way-down) by Jason Reynolds _(720L · Grades 7–12)_
- [Make Way for Ducklings](https://readinglist.school/book/make-way-for-ducklings) by Robert McCloskey _(730L · Grades K–3)_
- [Maniac Magee](https://readinglist.school/book/maniac-magee) by Jerry Spinelli _(820L · Grades 4–7)_
- [Mr. Popper's Penguins](https://readinglist.school/book/mr-poppers-penguins) by Richard Atwater · Florence Atwater _(910L · Grades 3–5)_
- [Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH](https://readinglist.school/book/mrs-frisby-and-the-rats-of-nimh) by Robert C. O'Brien _(790L · Grades 4–6)_
- [Number the Stars](https://readinglist.school/book/number-the-stars) by Lois Lowry _(670L · Grades 4–7)_
- [One Crazy Summer](https://readinglist.school/book/one-crazy-summer) by Rita Williams-Garcia _(750L · Grades 5–8)_
- [Out of My Mind](https://readinglist.school/book/out-of-my-mind) by Sharon M. Draper _(700L · Grades 4–7)_
- [Purple Hibiscus](https://readinglist.school/book/purple-hibiscus) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie _(920L · Grades 10–12)_
- [Ramona Quimby, Age 8](https://readinglist.school/book/ramona-quimby-age-8) by Beverly Cleary _(860L · Grades 3–5)_
- [Ramona the Pest](https://readinglist.school/book/ramona-the-pest) by Beverly Cleary _(750L · Grades 2–4)_
- [Rebound](https://readinglist.school/book/rebound) by Kwame Alexander _(780L · Grades 5–8)_
- [Refugee](https://readinglist.school/book/refugee) by Alan Gratz _(800L · Grades 5–9)_
- [Sarah, Plain and Tall](https://readinglist.school/book/sarah-plain-and-tall) by Patricia MacLachlan _(660L · Grades 3–5)_
- [Shiloh](https://readinglist.school/book/shiloh) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor _(890L · Grades 3–6)_
- [Stone Fox](https://readinglist.school/book/stone-fox) by John Reynolds Gardiner _(550L · Grades 3–5)_
- [Stuart Little](https://readinglist.school/book/stuart-little) by E.B. White _(920L · Grades 3–5)_
- [Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing](https://readinglist.school/book/tales-of-a-fourth-grade-nothing) by Judy Blume _(470L · Grades 2–5)_
- [The Boxcar Children](https://readinglist.school/book/the-boxcar-children) by Gertrude Chandler Warner _(490L · Grades 2–4)_
- [The Color Purple](https://readinglist.school/book/the-color-purple) by Alice Walker _(670L · Grades 9–12)_
- [The Crossover](https://readinglist.school/book/the-crossover) by Kwame Alexander _(750L · Grades 5–8)_
- [The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time](https://readinglist.school/book/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time) by Mark Haddon _(1090L · Grades 8–12)_
- [The Glass Menagerie](https://readinglist.school/book/the-glass-menagerie) by Tennessee Williams _(Grades 11–12)_
- [The Grapes of Wrath](https://readinglist.school/book/the-grapes-of-wrath) by John Steinbeck _(680L · Grades 10–12)_
- [The Hate U Give](https://readinglist.school/book/the-hate-u-give) by Angie Thomas _(590L · Grades 9–12)_
- [The Joy Luck Club](https://readinglist.school/book/the-joy-luck-club) by Amy Tan _(930L · Grades 9–12)_
- [The Outsiders](https://readinglist.school/book/the-outsiders) by S.E. Hinton _(750L · Grades 7–9)_
- [The Pearl](https://readinglist.school/book/the-pearl) by John Steinbeck _(1010L · Grades 6–9)_
- [The Poet X](https://readinglist.school/book/the-poet-x) by Elizabeth Acevedo _(800L · Grades 8–12)_
- [The Season of Styx Malone](https://readinglist.school/book/the-season-of-styx-malone) by Kekla Magoon _(510L · Grades 3–7)_
- [The Secret Life of Bees](https://readinglist.school/book/the-secret-life-of-bees) by Sue Monk Kidd _(840L · Grades 9–11)_
- [The War That Saved My Life](https://readinglist.school/book/the-war-that-saved-my-life) by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley _(580L · Grades 4–7)_
- [The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963](https://readinglist.school/book/the-watsons-go-to-birmingham-1963) by Christopher Paul Curtis _(1000L · Grades 5–8)_
- [Walk Two Moons](https://readinglist.school/book/walk-two-moons) by Sharon Creech _(770L · Grades 5–7)_
- [Where the Red Fern Grows](https://readinglist.school/book/where-the-red-fern-grows) by Wilson Rawls _(700L · Grades 4–7)_
- [Wonder](https://readinglist.school/book/wonder) by R.J. Palacio _(790L · Grades 3–7)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. JSON API: https://readinglist.school/api/theme/family · HTML view: https://readinglist.school/theme/family._