How to Steal a Dog
Audible trial: new members only. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.
Widely assigned — 4 curriculum lists · 3 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).
How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor is assigned in US schools at grades 3–5. It appears across 4 curriculum references and 3 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where How to Steal a Dog is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
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
Two DogsIan Falconer
HatchetGary Paulsen · 1020L
Charlotte's WebE.B. White · 680L
Bridge to TerabithiaKatherine Paterson · 810L
See all books like How to Steal a Dog→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Where this book is assigned
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) — 2009 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) — 2009 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) — 2009 winner
William Allen White Children's Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — Kansas's statewide children's-choice program (est. 1952; students read the annual nominees and vote). Winner list 1953-2025 per the William Allen White Award record.
- recommended·4th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — Kansas's statewide children's-choice program (est. 1952; students read the annual nominees and vote). Winner list 1953-2025 per the William Allen White Award record.
- recommended·5th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — Kansas's statewide children's-choice program (est. 1952; students read the annual nominees and vote). Winner list 1953-2025 per the William Allen White Award record.
William Allen White Children's Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award winners (Emporia State University), via Wikipedia — 2010
- recommended·4th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award winners (Emporia State University), via Wikipedia — 2010
- recommended·5th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award winners (Emporia State University), via Wikipedia — 2010
Young Hoosier Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · Indianasource: Indiana Library Federation — Young Hoosier Book Award Past Winners (Intermediate grades 4-6 + Middle Grade grades 6-8; annual since 1975)
- recommended·5th grade · Indianasource: Indiana Library Federation — Young Hoosier Book Award Past Winners (Intermediate grades 4-6 + Middle Grade grades 6-8; annual since 1975)
Was this page helpful?
Common questions
- What grade level is How to Steal a Dog?
- How to Steal a Dog is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–5. It appears on 4 school reading lists across 3 states. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read How to Steal a Dog?
- It takes about 3h 5m to read How to Steal a Dog (170 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 185 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign How to Steal a Dog?
- How to Steal a Dog appears on reading lists for South Carolina Children's Book Award, William Allen White Children's Book Award, Young Hoosier Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is How to Steal a Dog banned in schools?
- How to Steal a Dog 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 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 3–5 — 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 3 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: award-winner, book-club.