1980s books assigned in 8th grade
US schools assign 58 books written in the 1980s to 8th grade students, across 14 states, spanning 870L–1020L. Every title below is cited from a state ELA standard, district reading list, or AP/IB syllabus.
Most widely assigned from the 1980s
Hatchet
Gary Paulsen · on 12 reading lists
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- Titles
- 58
- Written
- 1980–1989
- Lexile range
- 870L–1020L
- States assigning
- 14
The list — 1980s, 8th grade
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A Deadly Game of MagicJoan Lowery Nixon
A Family ApartJoan Lowery Nixon
A Light in the AtticShel Silverstein
A Little FearPatricia Wrightson
A Long Hard JourneyPat McKissack
After the Dancing DaysMargaret Rostkowski
Anthony BurnsVirginia Hamilton
Auks, Rocks, and the Odd DinosaurPeggy Thomson
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous JobWillo Davis Roberts
Behind Barbed WireDaniel S. Davis
Charley SkedaddlePatricia Beatty
Chimney SweepsJames Cross Giblin
Conrad's WarAndrew Davies
Cracker JacksonBetsy Cromer Byars
Daphne's BookMary Downing Hahn
December StillnessMary Downing Hahn
Don't Look Behind YouLois Duncan
Everett Anderson's GoodbyeLucille Clifton
Fallen AngelsWalter Dean Myers
Freak the MightyW. R. Philbrick
Ghost in My SoupJudi Miller
Good Night, Mr. TomMichelle Magorian
Hail, Hail, Camp TimberwoodEllen Conford
HatchetGary Paulsen · 1020L
Show all 58 titles
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- Jelly Belly · Robert Kimmel Smith
- Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World · Mildred Walter
- Let the Circle Be Unbroken · Mildred D. Taylor
- Motown and Didi · Walter Dean Myers
- Panama Canal · Judith St. George
- Peppermints in the Parlor · Barbara Brooks Wallace
- Playing Beatie Bow · Ruth Park
- Poverty in America · Milton Meltzer
- Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You · Barthe DeClements
- Something Upstairs · Avi
- Stranger with My Face · Lois Duncan
- Streams to the River, River to the Sea · Scott O'Dell
- Strider · Beverly Cleary
- Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush · Virginia Hamilton
- Taking Terri Mueller · Norma Fox Mazer
- Tancy · Belinda Hurmence
- The Curse of the Blue Figurine · John Bellairs
- The Dark and Deadly Pool · Joan Lowery Nixon
- The Fighting Ground · Avi
- The Friendship · Mildred D. Taylor
- The Honorable Prison · Lyll Becerra de Jenkins
- The House on Mango Street · Sandra Cisneros
- The Illustrated Dinosaur Dictionary · Helen Roney Sattler
- The Magic of the Glits · Carole S. Adler
- The Moves Make the Man · Bruce Brooks
- The Other Side of Dark · Joan Lowery Nixon
- The People Could Fly · Virginia Hamilton
- The Root Cellar · Janet Lunn
- The Stalker · Joan Lowery Nixon
- The Third Eye · Lois Duncan
- The Weaver's Gift · Kathryn Lasky
- When · Laurie McBain
- Whispers from the Dead · Joan Lowery Nixon
- You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye · Patricia Hermes
Most-assigned 1980s authors in 8th grade
Joan Lowery Nixon (6) · Virginia Hamilton (3) · Lois Duncan (3) · Mary Downing Hahn (2) · Walter Dean Myers (2) · Mildred D. Taylor (2)
Common questions
- How many 1980s books are assigned in 8th grade?
- 58 books written between 1980 and 1989 appear on 8th 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 8th grade run from 870L to 1020L. 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?
- 14 states assign at least one 1980s title at 8th 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.