# Books about slavery assigned in US schools

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

**Lexile range:** 780L–1080L
**Grade span:** 3–12
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/theme/slavery
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## Authors who explore slavery

- [Ellen Levine](https://readinglist.school/author/ellen-levine)
- [Gary Paulsen](https://readinglist.school/author/gary-paulsen)
- [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://readinglist.school/author/laurie-halse-anderson)

## slavery canon

- [Chains](https://readinglist.school/book/chains) by Laurie Halse Anderson _(780L · Grades 5–9)_
- [Henry's Freedom Box](https://readinglist.school/book/henrys-freedom-box) by Ellen Levine _(Grades 3–6)_
- [Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave](https://readinglist.school/book/narrative-of-the-life-of-frederick-douglass) by Frederick Douglass _(1080L · Grades 8–12)_
- [Nightjohn](https://readinglist.school/book/nightjohn) by Gary Paulsen _(Grades 6–8)_

---

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