Billy Budd
by Herman Melville
Audible trial: new members only. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.
Assigned across 1 curriculum list
Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).
Billy Budd by Herman Melville is assigned in US schools at grades 11–12. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Billy Budd 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 11–12
- Age range
- Ages 16–17
- Pages
- 183
- Reading time
- about 3h 20m (est.)
- First published
- 1900
- Genre
- Historical Fiction
- ISBN-13
- 9781420956214
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
Audiobook on Amazon: Audiobook
As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you. Pricing, Prime, and trial terms shown on Amazon.
Similar grade-level books
The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald · 1070L
Of Mice and MenJohn Steinbeck · 630L
Lord of the FliesWilliam Golding · 770L
The Catcher in the RyeJ.D. Salinger · 790L
See all books like Billy Budd→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Historical Fiction title, typically at grades 11–12. Written in the 1900s; pairs with curriculum units on open_syllabus_project and classics; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Themes
open_syllabus_project · classics · classic literature · sailors
Where this book is assigned
Was this page helpful?
Common questions
- What grade level is Billy Budd?
- Billy Budd is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 11–12. It appears on 1 school reading list. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read Billy Budd?
- It takes about 3h 20m to read Billy Budd (183 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 200 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Billy Budd?
- Billy Budd appears on reading lists for Common Core State Standards (ELA). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Billy Budd banned in schools?
- Billy Budd 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 Billy Budd explore?
- Central themes in Billy Budd include open_syllabus_project, classics, classic literature, sailors.
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 11–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.