
Skeleton Man
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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).
Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac is assigned in US schools at grades 3–8. 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 Skeleton Man 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
- 114
- Reading time
- about 2h 5m (est.)
- First published
- 2001
- Genre
- Mystery
- ISBN-13
- 9780439439619
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
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See all books like Skeleton Man→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Mystery title, typically at grades 3–8. Written in the 2000s; pairs with curriculum units on kidnapping and psychopaths; cited across 6 curriculum frameworks.
Themes
kidnapping · psychopaths · mohawk indians · indians of north america
Where this book is assigned
Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Arizonasource: Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award — Arizona's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-66-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award'...
- recommended·4th grade · Arizonasource: Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award — Arizona's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-66-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award'...
- recommended·5th grade · Arizonasource: Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award — Arizona's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-66-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award'...
- recommended·6th grade · Arizonasource: Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award — Arizona's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-66-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award'...
- recommended·7th grade · Arizonasource: Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award — Arizona's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-66-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award'...
- recommended·8th grade · Arizonasource: Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award — Arizona's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 3-83-66-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award'...
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Arkansassource: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award — Arkansas's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-6): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·4th grade · Arkansassource: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award — Arkansas's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-6): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·5th grade · Arkansassource: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award — Arkansas's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-6): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·6th grade · Arkansassource: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award — Arkansas's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-6): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·7th grade · Arkansassource: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award — Arkansas's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-6): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·8th grade · Arkansassource: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award — Arkansas's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 4-6): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
Nebraska Golden Sower Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award past winners, 2004 winner (Chapter Book)
- recommended·4th grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award past winners, 2004 winner (Chapter Book)
- recommended·5th grade · Nebraskasource: Nebraska Library Association — Golden Sower Award past winners, 2004 winner (Chapter Book)
North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award
- recommended·4th grade · North Dakotasource: North Dakota Library Association — Flicker Tale Children's Book Award past winners — 2003 winner
- recommended·5th grade · North Dakotasource: North Dakota Library Association — Flicker Tale Children's Book Award past winners — 2003 winner
- recommended·6th grade · North Dakotasource: North Dakota Library Association — Flicker Tale Children's Book Award past winners — 2003 winner
- recommended·7th grade · North Dakotasource: North Dakota Library Association — Flicker Tale Children's Book Award past winners — 2003 winner
Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award
- recommended·4th gradesource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award winners (1940-2022), via Wikipedia — 2004 Winner
- recommended·4th grade · Washingtonsource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award (the oldest children's-choice book award in North America, since 1940; students across the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, read the nominees and vote for their favorites)
- recommended·5th gradesource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award winners (1940-2022), via Wikipedia — 2004 Winner
- recommended·5th grade · Washingtonsource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award (the oldest children's-choice book award in North America, since 1940; students across the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, read the nominees and vote for their favorites)
- recommended·6th gradesource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award winners (1940-2022), via Wikipedia — 2004 Winner
- recommended·6th grade · Washingtonsource: Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Reader's Choice Award (the oldest children's-choice book award in North America, since 1940; students across the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, read the nominees and vote for their favorites)
Rhode Island Children's Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Rhode Islandsource: Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services (OLIS) — Rhode Island Children's Book Award winners and nominees 1991-2025 — 2003 winner
- recommended·4th grade · Rhode Islandsource: Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services (OLIS) — Rhode Island Children's Book Award winners and nominees 1991-2025 — 2003 winner
- recommended·5th grade · Rhode Islandsource: Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services (OLIS) — Rhode Island Children's Book Award winners and nominees 1991-2025 — 2003 winner
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Common questions
- What grade level is Skeleton Man?
- Skeleton Man is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–8. It appears on 6 school reading lists across 6 states. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read Skeleton Man?
- It takes about 2h 5m to read Skeleton Man (114 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 125 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Skeleton Man?
- Skeleton Man appears on reading lists for Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award, Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award, Nebraska Golden Sower Award, and 3 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Skeleton Man banned in schools?
- Skeleton Man 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 Skeleton Man explore?
- Central themes in Skeleton Man include kidnapping, psychopaths, mohawk indians, indians of north america.
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 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, read-aloud.