Alaska 8th grade reading list

Books with an Alaska citation for 8th grade include New Kid; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Old Yeller. This list has 542 total books, 8 of them with an Alaska-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1300L.

Top Alaska 8th grade pick: New Kid by Jerry Craft — on 1 Alaska list

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Total books542Lexile410L–1300LSourceAlaska ELA Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Middle (6–8) titles appearing in the most states are The Giver (20 states), The Hunger Games (14 states), and Ground Zero (8 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Our pick to start — most-cited for Alaska 8th grade

These are the 8 titles named in Alaska’s own curriculum documents for this grade — everything below is the wider national list. Read against the Common Core Appendix A complexity band; reading level is not thematic maturity, and several sit below the band because they are assigned for discussion.

  1. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Alaska curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

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  2. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

    Mildred D. Taylor

    Cited in 1 Alaska curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers Jim Crow South, family and land, racial injustice. At 920L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  3. Old Yeller

    Fred Gipson

    Cited in 1 Alaska curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, courage and survival.

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  4. Rascal

    Sterling North

    Cited in 1 Alaska curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers nature, animals and family.

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  5. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Alaska curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers refugees, survival and family. At 800L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  6. The Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Alaska curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers conformity vs individuality, memory, utopia and dystopia. At 760L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  7. The Lost Hero

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Alaska curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers mythology, heroism and memory.

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  8. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Alaska curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers refugees, family and hope.

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8 books cited for Alaska 8th grade

Assignments tied directly to Alaska’s Alaska ELA Standards with a Alaska-specific citation.

534 additional grade-appropriate books for 8th grade readers

The 542-book total above includes 8 titles with direct Alaska citation; these 534 additional titles cover 8th grade in the broader canon. They don't have an Alaska-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 534 titles

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Other Alaska grades

7th grade · 9th grade · 6th grade · 10th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

7th grade · 9th grade · 6th grade · 10th grade

Same 8th grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois

Browse 8th grade reading by theme

About the Alaska 8th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Alaska ELA Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 8th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. ReadingList currently tracks 542 titles for 8th grade in Alaska, of which 8 carry a direct Alaska citation and 534 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 8th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1300L.

8th grade sits in the 6-8 grade band, where students are middle-grade readers. At this stage the emphasis is on analyzing theme, character, and author's craft across full-length novels and their first classics. Assigned reading skews toward full-length novels, plays, memoir, and frequently-challenged contemporary titles, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 700L to 1010L. Measured against that 925–1185L range, of the 33 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 24 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 1 is a stretch text that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 8th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Alaska’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Alaska ELA Standards (education.alaska.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 8th grade list below blends Alaska-specific assignments with widely taught national titles. Every title links to its primary source on the book’s detail page, so you can confirm exactly where and why it is assigned.

How to use this list:match a title to your child’s most recent Lexile or guided-reading level rather than to the grade alone. Teachers building a 8th grade unit can pair a Alaska-cited core text with a grade-appropriate companion novel; parents previewing summer or supplemental reading can check each book’s content notes and challenge history before assigning it.

Common questions

What books do 8th grade students read in Alaska?
Books with an Alaska-specific citation for 8th grade include New Kid; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; Old Yeller; Rascal and Refugee. Individual schools and districts choose their own titles, so check with your child's teacher for the exact list.
How many books are assigned to 8th grade students in Alaska?
This list has 542 books for 8th grade students in Alaska. 8 of them have an Alaska-specific citation; the other 534 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 8th grade reading in Alaska?
Lexile measures across the 8th grade Alaska reading list range from 410L to 1300L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Alaska-specific entries reference Alaska ELA Standards (published at education.alaska.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 8th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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State-specific entries sourced from education.alaska.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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