Cover of City Spies

City Spies

by James Ponti

Audible trial: new members only. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Among the most widely assigned — 6 curriculum lists · 6 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).

On reading-award lists:Nevada Young Readers' AwardMaryland Black-Eyed Susan Book AwardCharlie May Simon Children's Book AwardHawai'i Nēnē Award+2 more

City Spies by James Ponti is assigned in US schools at grades 4–6. It appears across 6 curriculum references and 6 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where City Spies 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 4–6
Age range
Ages 9–11
Pages
384
Reading time
about 7 hours (est.)
First published
2020
Genre
Realistic Fiction
ISBN-13
9781534414914

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · 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

See all books like City Spies→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Realistic Fiction title, typically at grades 4–6. Written in the 2020s; cited across 6 curriculum frameworks.

Where this book is assigned

Was this page helpful?

Common questions

What grade level is City Spies?
City Spies is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–6. It appears on 6 school reading lists across 6 states, from grade 4 to grade 8. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read City Spies?
It takes about 7 hours to read City Spies (384 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 420 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign City Spies?
City Spies appears on reading lists for Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award, Hawai'i Nēnē Award, Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, and 3 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is City Spies banned in schools?
City Spies 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.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

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 4–6 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 6 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 6 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.

Keep browsing

Find ReadingList in your Google results more often: