How many 1980s books are assigned in 3rd grade?

103 books written between 1980 and 1989 appear on 3rd grade reading lists tracked by ReadingList. Each one is cited from a state department of education, district list, or AP/IB syllabus.

What Lexile range do these 1980s books cover?

Lexile measures for the 1980s titles assigned in 3rd grade run from 410L to 860L. Poetry, drama, and graphic novels without a published Lexile measure are not counted in that range.

Are these assigned nationally or in a few states?

31 states assign at least one 1980s title at 3rd grade in the lists tracked here, so this is a broad pattern rather than a single state's canon. Per-state lists are on each state page.

1980s books assigned in 3rd grade

Name: 1980s books assigned in 3rd grade
Creator: ReadingList
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

US schools assign 103 books written in the 1980s to 3rd grade students, across 31 states, spanning 410L–860L. Every title below is cited from a state ELA standard, district reading list, or AP/IB syllabus.

Most widely assigned from the 1980s

There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

Louis Sachar · on 16 reading lists

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Titles: 103
Written: 1980–1989
Lexile range: 410L–860L
States assigning: 31

The list — 1980s, 3rd grade

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Show all 103 titles

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Hail, Hail, Camp Timberwood · Ellen Conford
Half a Moon and One Whole Star · Crescent Dragonwagon
Harry's Mad · Dick King-Smith
Heckedy Peg · Audrey Wood
Herbie's Troubles · Carol Chapman
Hey, Al · Arthur Yorinks
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie · Laura Numeroff
In a Dark, Dark Room · Alvin Schwartz
Is Anybody There? · Eve Bunting
Jacob Have I Loved · Katherine Paterson
Jelly Belly · Robert Kimmel Smith
Joyful Noise · Paul Fleischman
Jumanji · Chris Van Allsburg
Lincoln: A Photobiography · Russell Freedman
Lon Po Po · Ed Young
Lon Po Po · Ed Young
Mama Don't Allow 25th Anniversary Edition · Thacher Hurd
Matilda · Roald Dahl
Mirandy and Brother Wind · Pat McKissack
Miss Nelson Has a Field Day · Harry Allard
Miss Nelson Is Back · Harry Allard
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters · John Steptoe
My Friend the Vampire · Angela Sommer-Bodenburg
My Teacher Is an Alien · Bruce Coville
Night of the Twisters · Ivy Ruckman
Nightmare Mountain · Peg Kehret
Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade · Barthe DeClements
Number the Stars · Lois Lowry
Outside Over There · Maurice Sendak
Owl Moon · Jane Yolen
Peabody · Rosemary Wells
Piggins · Jane Yolen
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 · Beverly Cleary
Round Trip · Ann Jonas
Sarah, Plain and Tall · Patricia MacLachlan
Shy Charles · Rosemary Wells
Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You · Barthe DeClements
Skinnybones · Barbara Park
Something Upstairs · Avi
Song and Dance Man · Karen Ackerman
Space Case · Edward Marshall
Stone Fox · John Reynolds Gardiner
Tacky the Penguin · Lester, Helen.
Taking Terri Mueller · Norma Fox Mazer
Ten Kids, No Pets · Ann M. Martin
The Araboolies of Liberty Street · Sam Swope
The BFG · Roald Dahl
The Butterfly Jar · Jeffrey Moss
The Cybil War · Betsy Byars
The Devil and Mother Crump · Valerie Scho Carey
The Dog Who Had Kittens · Polly M. Robertus
The Dollhouse Murders · Betty Ren Wright
The Glorious Flight · Alice Provensen
The Great White Man-Eating Shark · Margaret Mahy
The Hero and the Crown · Robin McKinley
The Hot and Cold Summer · Johanna Hurwitz
The Indian in the Cupboard · Lynne Reid Banks
The Lady With the Alligator Purse · Nadine Bernard Westcott
The Magic School Bus: At the Waterworks · Joanna Cole
The Other Side of Dark · Joan Lowery Nixon
The Patchwork Quilt · Valerie Flournoy
The Polar Express · Chris Van Allsburg
The Root Cellar · Janet Lunn
The Shadow of Beauty · S. Talmond Brown
The Stalker · Joan Lowery Nixon
The Stories Julian Tells · Ann Cameron
The Stranger · Chris Van Allsburg
The Talking Eggs · Robert D. San Souci
The Whipping Boy · Sid Fleischman
The Wolf's Chicken Stew · Keiko Kasza
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom · Louis Sachar
Two bad Ants · Chris Van Allsburg
Wait Till Helen Comes · Mary Downing Hahn
Wayside School Is Falling Down · Louis Sachar
We Are in a Book · Mo Willems
What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs? · Carol Carrick
When the Boys Ran the House · Joan Davenport Carris
Who Needs a Bratty Brother? · Linda Gondosch
You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye · Patricia Hermes

Most-assigned 1980s authors in 3rd grade

Chris Van Allsburg (4) · Lois Lowry (2) · Betty Ren Wright (2) · Johanna Hurwitz (2) · Beverly Cleary (2) · Mary Downing Hahn (2)

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Common questions

How many 1980s books are assigned in 3rd grade?: 103 books written between 1980 and 1989 appear on 3rd grade reading lists tracked by ReadingList. Each one is cited from a state department of education, district list, or AP/IB syllabus.
What Lexile range do these 1980s books cover?: Lexile measures for the 1980s titles assigned in 3rd grade run from 410L to 860L. Poetry, drama, and graphic novels without a published Lexile measure are not counted in that range.
Are these assigned nationally or in a few states?: 31 states assign at least one 1980s title at 3rd grade in the lists tracked here, so this is a broad pattern rather than a single state's canon. Per-state lists are on each state page.

1980s books assigned in 3rd grade

The list — 1980s, 3rd grade

Most-assigned 1980s authors in 3rd grade

Common questions

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