Common Core State Standards (ELA)

Common Core State Standards (ELA) references 189 books assigned across applicable K-12 grade levels in US schools.

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National K-12 English Language Arts standards adopted by 41 US states. Appendix B of the CCSS publishes grade-band exemplar texts.

Primary source: www.nysed.gov

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137 Common Core exemplar texts (CCSS Appendix B)

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Also taught in Common Core states (52)

These titles are not Appendix B exemplars. They come from school, district and state reading lists in states that use Common Core; each card names its source.

Show all 52 titles

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  • Rebound · Kwame Alexander · Source: WeAreTeachers 2025 Summer Reading List — Middle Grades
  • Smile · Raina Telgemeier · Source: WeAreTeachers 2025 Summer Reading List — Middle Grades
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You · Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi · Source: CCSS ELA grades 6-8 contemporary nonfiction history
  • The 13-Story Treehouse · Andy Griffiths · Source: ImaginationSoup 3rd Grade Summer Reading List
  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian · Sherman Alexie · Source: CCSS ELA grades 6-8 contemporary YA exemplar
  • The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas · John Boyne · Source: Chagrin Falls English Department Reading List 2025-2026 - CFMS English Grade 8 - 3rd quarter all-read
  • The Catcher in the Rye · J.D. Salinger · Source: CA CCSS ELA aligned reading
  • The Crossover · Kwame Alexander · Source: CCSS ELA grades 4-5 verse novel Newbery Medal 2015
  • The Fault in Our Stars · John Green · Source: Middleborough High School (MA) — Summer Reading 2025, choose one per incoming grade
  • The Glass Castle · Jeannette Walls · Source: Middleborough High School (MA) — Summer Reading 2025, choose one per incoming grade
  • The Graveyard Book · Neil Gaiman · Source: CCSS ELA grades 4-5 fantasy Newbery Medal 2009
  • The Handmaid's Tale · Margaret Atwood · Source: Middleborough High School (MA) — Summer Reading 2025, choose one per incoming grade
  • The Hate U Give · Angie Thomas · Source: CA CCSS ELA grade 10 contemporary-literature selection
  • The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) · Rick Riordan · Source: CCSS ELA grades 4-5 contemporary fantasy exemplar (Greek mythology pairing)
  • The One and Only Ivan · Katherine Applegate · Source: CCSS ELA grades 2-3 Newbery Medal 2013
  • The Parker Inheritance · Varian Johnson · Source: WeAreTeachers 2025 Summer Reading List — Middle Grades
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower · Stephen Chbosky · Source: Middleborough High School (MA) — Summer Reading 2025, choose one per incoming grade
  • The Poet X · Elizabeth Acevedo · Source: Middleborough High School (MA) — Summer Reading 2025, choose one per incoming grade
  • The Season of Styx Malone · Kekla Magoon · Source: WeAreTeachers 2025 Summer Reading List — Middle Grades
  • The Secret Life of Bees · Sue Monk Kidd · Source: Middleborough High School (MA) — Summer Reading 2025, choose one per incoming grade
  • The Sun is Also a Star · Nicola Yoon · Source: Middleborough High School (MA) — Summer Reading 2025, choose one per incoming grade
  • The Things They Carried · Tim O'Brien · Source: Middleborough High School (MA) — Summer Reading 2025, choose one per incoming grade
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar · Eric Carle · Source: The First Academy — Kindergarten Read-Aloud & Early Readers Suggested Summer Reading
  • The Westing Game · Ellen Raskin · Source: CCSS ELA grades 4-5 Newbery Medal mystery exemplar
  • Twelfth Night · William Shakespeare · Source: Chagrin Falls English Department Reading List 2025-2026 - CFMS Advanced English Grade 8 - 2nd quarter all-read (No Fear Shakespeare)
  • Walk Two Moons · Sharon Creech · Source: CCSS ELA grades 4-5 Newbery Medal exemplar
  • When You Reach Me · Rebecca Stead · Source: CCSS ELA grades 4-5 Newbery Medal 2010
  • Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy · Tui T. Sutherland · Source: WeAreTeachers 2025 Summer Reading List — Middle Grades

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About Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy were released in 2010 and are formally adopted (in whole or in part) by 41 US states, the District of Columbia, four US territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity. Each state's Department of Education ultimately controls how the standards translate into classroom practice — including specific text selections — so a Common Core-aligned reading list is best understood as a national framework adapted at the state, then district, then individual-school level.

The standards organize ELA expectations into ten anchor strands for Reading (Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, Range of Reading) and matching strands for Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language. Reading expectations grow in complexity grade by grade rather than swapping textbooks each year. The result: students re-encounter major themes — coming-of-age, social conflict, identity, civic responsibility — through increasingly demanding texts.

Common Core does not publish a single mandated book list. Instead, Appendix B of the standards provides 'text exemplars': sample titles illustrating the kind of complexity and theme appropriate at each grade band (K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-10, 11-CCR). Texts on this page that cite Common Core do so via Appendix B inclusion or via a state's CCSS implementation guide.

External references: Common Core ELA Standards (corestandards.org) · Appendix B — Text Exemplars

How to use this Common Core State Standards (ELA) reading list

The book list above represents titles ReadingList has confirmed as referenced by Common Core State Standards (ELA)— either through the framework’s own published documentation, through audited classroom syllabi citing the framework, or through US state and district curriculum guides that map their reading expectations to it. Each book’s detail page links the specific primary source so parents, teachers, and students can verify the citation and locate the official document.

Reading lists evolve. Common Core State Standards (ELA) citations on ReadingList are reviewed on a rolling basis as primary sources publish updates. If you teach or learn under this framework and a title on this page is no longer used (or you know of one that should appear), the ReadingList methodology page explains how to submit a correction with a citation.

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Frequently asked questions

What books does Common Core State Standards (ELA) include?

189 books are referenced by Common Core State Standards (ELA) across applicable K-12 grade levels. Each book page cites the primary source assignment (the official curriculum standard, exemplar list, or syllabus where the title appears).

What grades does Common Core State Standards (ELA) cover?

Common Core State Standards (ELA) is a common-core curriculum spanning applicable K-12 grade levels via the standards framework. Browse by grade using the grade-filter links on this page or visit /grade for the full grade index across all curricula.

Where does Common Core State Standards (ELA) data come from?

Primary source: www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/standards-instruction/appendix-b-text-exemplars-and-sample-performance-tasks.pdf. Cross-referenced with Common Core exemplars at achievethecore.org. Every book page on ReadingList.school cites the standards origin for that assignment.

Is Common Core State Standards (ELA) required reading?

Common Core State Standards (ELA) provides recommended exemplars + assignments — adoption varies by district and teacher. Always check with your school's English department for the specific required vs recommended list at your grade level.

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Citations to Common Core State Standards (ELA) are based on the publicly available course framework, reading list, or prescribed text list. Each book page links to the specific source document. Last reviewed: 2026-09-11.

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