
The Cursed Moon
by Angela Cervantes
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Widely assigned — 3 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).
The Cursed Moon by Angela Cervantes is assigned in US schools at grades 3–6. It appears across 3 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 The Cursed Moon 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
- Pages
- 165
- Reading time
- about 3 hours (est.)
- First published
- 2023
- Genre
- Horror
- ISBN-13
- 9781338814033
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook
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About this book
When a cursed moon rises, a boy's scary stories start coming true. Angela Cervantes spins a spooky middle-grade ghost story about family, fear, and facing the things that haunt us. Nominated for the 2025-2026 South Carolina Children's Book Award (grades 3-5), administered by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians.
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See all books like The Cursed Moon→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Horror title, typically at grades 3–6. Written in the 2020s; pairs with curriculum units on fear and family; cited across 3 curriculum frameworks.
Content notes
scary scenes
Where this book is assigned
South Carolina Children's Book Award
- recommended·3rd grade · South Carolinasource: 2025-2026 South Carolina Children's Book Award Nominees (South Carolina Association of School Librarians / studySC)
- recommended·4th grade · South Carolinasource: 2025-2026 South Carolina Children's Book Award Nominees (South Carolina Association of School Librarians / studySC)
- recommended·5th grade · South Carolinasource: 2025-2026 South Carolina Children's Book Award Nominees (South Carolina Association of School Librarians / studySC)
Sunshine State Young Readers Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Floridasource: Sunshine State Young Readers Award past winners, 2025 winner (grades 3-5)
- recommended·4th grade · Floridasource: Sunshine State Young Readers Award past winners, 2025 winner (grades 3-5)
- recommended·5th grade · Floridasource: Sunshine State Young Readers Award past winners, 2025 winner (grades 3-5)
William Allen White Children's Book Award
- recommended·6th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — 2026 winner (6-8)
- recommended·7th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — 2026 winner (6-8)
- recommended·8th grade · Kansassource: William Allen White Children's Book Award (Emporia State University) — 2026 winner (6-8)
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Common questions
- What grade level is The Cursed Moon?
- The Cursed Moon is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–6. It appears on 3 school reading lists across 3 states, from grade 3 to grade 8. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read The Cursed Moon?
- It takes about 3 hours to read The Cursed Moon (165 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 180 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign The Cursed Moon?
- The Cursed Moon appears on reading lists for South Carolina Children's Book Award, Sunshine State Young Readers Award, William Allen White Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is The Cursed Moon banned in schools?
- The Cursed Moon 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 Cursed Moon explore?
- Central themes in The Cursed Moon include fear, family, ghosts.
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 3–6 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 3 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: book-club.