
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job
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Widely assigned — 4 curriculum lists · 4 states
Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job by Willo Davis Roberts is assigned in US schools at grades 3–8. It appears across 4 curriculum references and 4 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Grade range
- Grades 3–8
- Age range
- Ages 8–13
- Pages
- 161
- Reading time
- about 2h 55m (est.)
- First published
- 1985
- Genre
- Realistic Fiction
- ISBN-13
- 9780689806575
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
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See all books like Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Realistic Fiction title, typically at grades 3–8. Written in the 1980s; pairs with curriculum units on babysitters and kidnapping; cited across 4 curriculum frameworks.
Themes
babysitters · kidnapping · babysitters, fiction
Where this book is assigned
Mark Twain Readers Award
- recommended·4th grade · Missourisource: Missouri Mark Twain Readers Award (Missouri Association of School Librarians) — winner list 1972-2025 via Wikipedia — 1988 Mark Twain Award winner
- recommended·5th grade · Missourisource: Missouri Mark Twain Readers Award (Missouri Association of School Librarians) — winner list 1972-2025 via Wikipedia — 1988 Mark Twain Award winner
- recommended·6th grade · Missourisource: Missouri Mark Twain Readers Award (Missouri Association of School Librarians) — winner list 1972-2025 via Wikipedia — 1988 Mark Twain Award winner
Nevada Young Readers' Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Nevadasource: Nevada Young Readers' Award — Nevada's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-56-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·4th grade · Nevadasource: Nevada Young Readers' Award — Nevada's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-56-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·5th grade · Nevadasource: Nevada Young Readers' Award — Nevada's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-56-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·6th grade · Nevadasource: Nevada Young Readers' Award — Nevada's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-56-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·7th grade · Nevadasource: Nevada Young Readers' Award — Nevada's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-56-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·8th grade · Nevadasource: Nevada Young Readers' Award — Nevada's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-56-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
South Carolina Children's Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · South Carolinasource: South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) — South Carolina Children's Book Award official past winners list (linked from scasl.net) — 1988 winner
- recommended·4th grade · South Carolinasource: South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) — South Carolina Children's Book Award official past winners list (linked from scasl.net) — 1988 winner
- recommended·5th grade · South Carolinasource: South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) — South Carolina Children's Book Award official past winners list (linked from scasl.net) — 1988 winner
Young Hoosier Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · Indianasource: Indiana Library Federation — Young Hoosier Book Award past winners, 1988 winner (Intermediate)
- recommended·5th grade · Indianasource: Indiana Library Federation — Young Hoosier Book Award past winners, 1988 winner (Intermediate)
- recommended·6th grade · Indianasource: Indiana Library Federation — Young Hoosier Book Award past winners, 1988 winner (Intermediate)
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Common questions
- What grade level is Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job?
- Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–8. It appears on 4 school reading lists across 4 states. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job?
- It takes about 2h 55m to read Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job (161 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 175 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job?
- Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job appears on reading lists for Mark Twain Readers Award, Nevada Young Readers' Award, South Carolina Children's Book Award, and 1 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job banned in schools?
- Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
- What themes does Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job explore?
- Central themes in Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job include babysitters, kidnapping, babysitters, fiction.
Why this book is on this list
How we classifyHide
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 3–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 4 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 4 states ELA frameworks or DOE list (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: book-club.