# Books about resilience assigned in US schools

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

**Lexile range:** 550L–1070L
**Grade span:** 3–12
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/theme/resilience
**Wikipedia (entity):** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_resilience
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## Authors who explore resilience

- [Gary Paulsen](https://readinglist.school/author/gary-paulsen)
- [Gennifer Choldenko](https://readinglist.school/author/gennifer-choldenko)
- [Jarrett Lerner](https://readinglist.school/author/jarrett-lerner)
- [John Steinbeck](https://readinglist.school/author/john-steinbeck)
- [Kimberly Brubaker Bradley](https://readinglist.school/author/kimberly-brubaker-bradley)
- [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://readinglist.school/author/laurie-halse-anderson)
- [Lynda Mullaly Hunt](https://readinglist.school/author/lynda-mullaly-hunt)
- [Pam Muñoz Ryan](https://readinglist.school/author/pam-mu-oz-ryan)

## resilience canon

- [A Work in Progress](https://readinglist.school/book/a-work-in-progress) by Jarrett Lerner _(Grades 4–8)_
- [Chains](https://readinglist.school/book/chains) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(780L · Grades 5–9)_
- [Esperanza Rising](https://readinglist.school/book/esperanza-rising) by Pam Muñoz Ryan _(750L · Grades 4–7)_
- [Fish in a Tree](https://readinglist.school/book/fish-in-a-tree) by Lynda Mullaly Hunt _(550L · Grades 4–7)_
- [Forged by Fire](https://readinglist.school/book/forged-by-fire) by Sharon M. Draper _(Grades 7–10)_
- [Front Desk](https://readinglist.school/book/front-desk) by Kelly Yang _(640L · Grades 3–7)_
- [Hatchet](https://readinglist.school/book/hatchet) by Gary Paulsen _(1020L · Grades 5–8)_
- [I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)](https://readinglist.school/book/i-am-malala-young-readers) by Malala Yousafzai _(830L · Grades 6–10)_
- [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)_
- [In the Beautiful Country](https://readinglist.school/book/in-the-beautiful-country) by Jane Kuo _(Grades 3–6)_
- [Inside Out & Back Again](https://readinglist.school/book/inside-out-and-back-again) by Thanhha Lai _(800L · Grades 4–8)_
- [Island of the Blue Dolphins](https://readinglist.school/book/island-of-the-blue-dolphins) by Scott O'Dell _(1000L · Grades 4–7)_
- [Just Keep Walking](https://readinglist.school/book/just-keep-walking) by Erin Soderberg Downing _(Grades 3–6)_
- [Louder Than Hunger](https://readinglist.school/book/louder-than-hunger) by John Schu _(Grades 7–12)_
- [Parachute Kids](https://readinglist.school/book/parachute-kids) by Betty C. Tang _(Grades 3–7)_
- [The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1)](https://readinglist.school/book/the-bad-beginning) by Lemony Snicket _(1010L · Grades 4–7)_
- [The Color Purple](https://readinglist.school/book/the-color-purple) by Alice Walker _(670L · Grades 9–12)_
- [The Grapes of Wrath](https://readinglist.school/book/the-grapes-of-wrath) by John Steinbeck _(680L · Grades 10–12)_
- [The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman](https://readinglist.school/book/the-tenth-mistake-of-hank-hooperman) by Gennifer Choldenko _(Grades 6–9)_
- [The War That Saved My Life](https://readinglist.school/book/the-war-that-saved-my-life) by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley _(580L · Grades 4–7)_

---

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