Cover of One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer

by Rita Williams-Garcia

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is assigned in US schools at grades 5–8, with a Lexile measure of 750L. It appears across 4 curriculum references and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where One Crazy Summer is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Lexile
750L
Grade range
Grades 5–8
Difficulty for grade
Within the grade 4–5 band (740–1010L)
Age range
Ages 10–13
Pages
218
Reading time
about 4 hours (est.)
First published
2010
Genre
Historical Fiction
ISBN-13
9780060760892

Reading difficulty: At 750L, One Crazy Summer falls within the typical 740–1010L text-complexity range for 5th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge.

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About this book

In the summer of 1968, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters travel from Brooklyn to Oakland to meet the mother who abandoned them — and find themselves swept into a Black Panther summer camp. Rita Williams-Garcia's Newbery Honor novel braids family, identity, and the civil-rights era. A common grades 5-8 text.

Why widely assigned

This Historical Fiction title, reads at middle-grade prose complexity, typically at grades 5–8. Written in the 2010s; pairs with curriculum units on family and race; cited across 4 curriculum frameworks.

Themes

family · race · civil rights · mother-daughter relationship

Where this book is assigned

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See all books like One Crazy Summer→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Common questions

What grade level is One Crazy Summer?
One Crazy Summer is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 5–8, with a Lexile measure of 750L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
What is the Lexile level of One Crazy Summer?
One Crazy Summer has a Lexile measure of 750L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.
How long does it take to read One Crazy Summer?
It takes about 4 hours to read One Crazy Summer (218 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 240 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
Is One Crazy Summer hard to read for 5th grade?
At 750L, One Crazy Summer falls within the typical 740–1010L text-complexity range for 5th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.
What curricula assign One Crazy Summer?
One Crazy Summer appears on reading lists for Common Core State Standards (ELA), Coretta Scott King Author Award, Great Lakes Great Books Award, and 1 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.

Why this book is on this list

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
750L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
Grade band
Grades 5–8 — 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 1 state ELA framework 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, summer.