
The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn
by Sally J. Pla
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Widely assigned — 3 curriculum lists · 2 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 Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla is assigned in US schools at grades 4–7. It appears across 3 curriculum references and 2 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 Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn 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 4–7
- First published
- 2024
- ISBN-13
- 9781536486841
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
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Where this book is assigned
Schneider Family Book Award
- recommended·4th gradesource: Schneider Family Book Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2024 Schneider Family Book Award
- recommended·5th gradesource: Schneider Family Book Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2024 Schneider Family Book Award
- recommended·6th gradesource: Schneider Family Book Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2024 Schneider Family Book Award
- recommended·7th gradesource: Schneider Family Book Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2024 Schneider Family Book Award
South Carolina Junior Book Award
- recommended·6th grade · South Carolinasource: South Carolina Junior Book Award (South Carolina Association of School Librarians) — 2025-26 nominee (grades 6-8), read + voted by South Carolina students; nominee list via studySC / SC State Library + SCASL
- recommended·7th grade · South Carolinasource: South Carolina Junior Book Award (South Carolina Association of School Librarians) — 2025-26 nominee (grades 6-8), read + voted by South Carolina students; nominee list via studySC / SC State Library + SCASL
Virginia Readers' Choice
- recommended·6th grade · Virginiasource: Virginia Readers' Choice past winners, 2025-2026 winner (Middle)
- recommended·7th grade · Virginiasource: Virginia Readers' Choice past winners, 2025-2026 winner (Middle)
- recommended·8th grade · Virginiasource: Virginia Readers' Choice past winners, 2025-2026 winner (Middle)
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Common questions
- What grade level is The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn?
- The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–7. It appears on 3 school reading lists across 2 states, from grade 4 to grade 8. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- What curricula assign The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn?
- The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn appears on reading lists for Schneider Family Book Award, South Carolina Junior Book Award, Virginia Readers' Choice. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn banned in schools?
- The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn 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 4–7 — 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 2 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.