Book Recommendations by Grade Level

Books for class and pleasure reading organized by grade level

Here are common books to teach and read for pleasure. Which ones did we miss? Comment below the list.

Class Reads

  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
  • Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
  • Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
  • The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
  • Corduroy by Don Freeman
  • Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
  • Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
  • The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
  • Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
  • Swimmy by Leo Lionni
  • The Mitten by Jan Brett

Pleasure Reads

  • Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
  • Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
  • If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
  • Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
  • Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean
  • Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
  • Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
  • Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
  • The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
  • Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae
  • Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
  • Press Here by Hervé Tullet

Class Reads

  • Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
  • Henry and Mudge: The First Book by Cynthia Rylant
  • The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
  • The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
  • Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
  • How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
  • Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
  • Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
  • A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
  • Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
  • Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik
  • Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

Pleasure Reads

  • The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
  • Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
  • Elephant & Piggie: We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems
  • Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne
  • Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
  • The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
  • Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
  • The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
  • Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond
  • Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
  • Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
  • Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

Class Reads

  • The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron
  • My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
  • The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling
  • Stuart Little by E.B. White
  • The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
  • The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
  • Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
  • Amos & Boris by William Steig
  • Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
  • Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
  • Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Pleasure Reads

  • Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park
  • Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows
  • Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds by David A. Adler
  • Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
  • The BFG by Roald Dahl
  • Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
  • The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
  • Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon
  • The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
  • Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
  • Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton
  • Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton

Class Reads

  • Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
  • Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
  • The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
  • Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
  • Frindle by Andrew Clements
  • Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
  • James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
  • Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
  • The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
  • Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
  • The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
  • The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

Pleasure Reads

  • Matilda by Roald Dahl
  • Judy Moody Was in a Mood by Megan McDonald
  • Wayside School Is Falling Down by Louis Sachar
  • Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon by Paula Danziger
  • The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
  • The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier
  • My Weird School: Miss Daisy Is Crazy! by Dan Gutman
  • Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce
  • A to Z Mysteries: The Absent Author by Ron Roy
  • Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
  • Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Class Reads

  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
  • Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
  • The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
  • Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
  • Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
  • Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
  • From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
  • The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
  • Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
  • The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
  • Wonder by R.J. Palacio
  • The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

Pleasure Reads

  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
  • Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
  • The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
  • Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland
  • Front Desk by Kelly Yang
  • Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
  • How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
  • Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
  • The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John

Class Reads

  • Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
  • Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
  • Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
  • The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
  • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
  • Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
  • The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
  • The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
  • Holes by Louis Sachar
  • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Pleasure Reads

  • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
  • The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
  • The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
  • Savvy by Ingrid Law
  • Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
  • The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
  • The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
  • Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein
  • Rules by Cynthia Lord
  • The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
  • Ungifted by Gordon Korman

Class Reads

  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
  • Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry
  • Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
  • Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
  • The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
  • The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
  • Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
  • Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
  • Refugee by Alan Gratz
  • Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Pleasure Reads

  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  • The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  • Ghost by Jason Reynolds
  • New Kid by Jerry Craft
  • Smile by Raina Telgemeier
  • Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
  • The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
  • Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
  • Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
  • When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
  • Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Class Reads

  • The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
  • A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
  • The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
  • Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
  • The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  • Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
  • Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
  • The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
  • Tangerine by Edward Bloor
  • The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Pleasure Reads

  • Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Maze Runner by James Dashner
  • Eragon by Christopher Paolini
  • I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
  • Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
  • Legend by Marie Lu
  • Cinder by Marissa Meyer
  • Scythe by Neal Shusterman
  • The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
  • Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
  • Peak by Roland Smith

Class Reads

  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • Animal Farm by George Orwell
  • The Call of the Wild by Jack London
  • Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
  • The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
  • Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose
  • The Wave by Todd Strasser

Pleasure Reads

  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  • I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
  • The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
  • Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
  • The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  • The Selection by Kiera Cass
  • March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
  • The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
  • A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
  • Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Class Reads

  • Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  • The Odyssey by Homer
  • Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  • Night by Elie Wiesel
  • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  • A Separate Peace by John Knowles
  • The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
  • Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
  • Antigone by Sophocles

Pleasure Reads

  • The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  • Divergent by Veronica Roth
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  • Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
  • Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
  • Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
  • One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
  • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
  • They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
  • Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
  • Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Class Reads

  • Macbeth by William Shakespeare
  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
  • A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  • The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  • Oedipus the King by Sophocles

Pleasure Reads

  • The Martian by Andy Weir
  • Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
  • Life of Pi by Yann Martel
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
  • The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
  • Dune by Frank Herbert
  • The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
  • Educated by Tara Westover
  • The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
  • Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Class Reads

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • The Crucible by Arthur Miller
  • The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  • The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Beloved by Toni Morrison
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  • Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
  • Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
  • The Awakening by Kate Chopin
  • Walden by Henry David Thoreau
  • A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Pleasure Reads

  • Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
  • Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
  • The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
  • The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
  • The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
  • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
  • There There by Tommy Orange
  • Circe by Madeline Miller

Class Reads

  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  • Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney
  • The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
  • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  • Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
  • Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  • The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
  • The Stranger by Albert Camus

Pleasure Reads

  • Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
  • The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
  • All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  • The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
  • Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  • Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
  • Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
  • The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
  • When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker

What books are commonly recommended at each grade level

Overview: Here are books commonly read in each grade level as well as pleasure reads we love to recommend. The lists lean toward what is widely taught rather than what is newest, so check with your school librarian before you order anything.

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