Cover of The Firefly Summer

The Firefly Summer

by Morgan Matson

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Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 1 state

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 Award

The Firefly Summer by Morgan Matson is assigned in US schools at grades 3–7. It appears across 1 curriculum reference 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 The Firefly Summer 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 3–7
Age range
Ages 8–13
Pages
432
Reading time
about 7h 55m (est.)
First published
2024
Genre
Middle Grade Fiction
ISBN-13
9781534493360

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook

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About this book

A girl spends the summer at her late mother's childhood camp, meeting cousins she never knew and chasing a decades-old mystery. Morgan Matson's middle-grade debut is a warm story about family, belonging, and summer adventure. Nominated for the 2025-2026 South Carolina Children's Book Award (grades 3-5), administered by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like The Firefly Summer→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Middle Grade Fiction title, typically at grades 3–7. Written in the 2020s; pairs with curriculum units on family and summer; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

family · summer · mystery · belonging

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is The Firefly Summer?
The Firefly Summer is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–7. It appears on 1 school reading list across 1 state, from grade 3 to grade 5. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read The Firefly Summer?
It takes about 7h 55m to read The Firefly Summer (432 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 475 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign The Firefly Summer?
The Firefly Summer appears on reading lists for South Carolina Children's Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is The Firefly Summer banned in schools?
The Firefly Summer 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 Firefly Summer explore?
Central themes in The Firefly Summer include family, summer, mystery, belonging.

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 3–7 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum 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: book-club.

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