Cover of The Best School Year Ever

The Best School Year Ever

by Barbara Robinson

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Among the most widely assigned — 10 curriculum lists · 10 states

#60 most-assigned book in America — on school reading lists in 7 states (2026-07-13 study of 13,258 assignments).

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:South Carolina Children's Book AwardMountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania)Volunteer State Book AwardNorth Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award+6 more

The Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson is assigned in US schools at grades 3–6. It appears across 10 curriculum references and 10 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where The Best School Year Ever 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 3–6
Age range
Ages 8–12
First published
2011
Genre
Humor
ISBN-13
9780062089953

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook

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About this book

The outrageous Herdman kids return when the class is assigned to find one good quality in each of them — easier said than done. (Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award winner.)

Similar grade-level books

See all books like The Best School Year Ever→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Humor title, typically at grades 3–6. Written in the 2010s; pairs with curriculum units on humor and family; cited across 10 curriculum frameworks.

Themes

humor · family · school

Where this book is assigned

Show 4 more awards & assignments

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Common questions

What grade level is The Best School Year Ever?
The Best School Year Ever is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–6. It appears on 10 school reading lists across 10 states. Exact placement varies by school and district.
What curricula assign The Best School Year Ever?
The Best School Year Ever appears on reading lists for Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award, Hawai'i Nēnē Award, Iowa Children's Choice Award, and 7 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is The Best School Year Ever banned in schools?
The Best School Year Ever 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 The Best School Year Ever explore?
Central themes in The Best School Year Ever include humor, family, school.

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 3–6 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 10 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 10 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.

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