Arizona 5th grade reading list

Books with an Arizona citation for 5th grade include Bud, Not Buddy; Holes and New Kid. This list has 898 total books, 51 of them with an Arizona-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top Arizona 5th grade pick: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis — on 1 Arizona list

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Total books898Lexile390L–1020LSourceArizona ELA Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Elementary (K–5) titles appearing in the most states are Wonder (29 states), Because of Winn-Dixie (26 states), and Shiloh (25 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Our pick to start — most-cited for Arizona 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Arizona’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. Bud, Not Buddy

    Christopher Paul Curtis

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers family, identity and perseverance. At 950L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers fate vs choice, friendship and justice. At 660L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  3. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

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

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  4. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers animal welfare, morality and family. At 890L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  5. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers Greek mythology, neurodivergence (dyslexia, ADHD) and friendship. At 740L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  6. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers love, loss and journey.

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  7. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  8. Dragon Rider

    Cornelia Funke

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers animals, mythical.

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  9. Drama

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers theater, friendship and identity.

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  10. Echo

    Pam Muñoz Ryan

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers music, family and war. At 680L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  11. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  12. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers refugees, survival and family. At 800L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  13. Skeleton Man

    Joseph Bruchac

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers kidnapping, psychopaths and mohawk indians.

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  14. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6.

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  15. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers siblings, family and everyday life. At 470L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  16. The Indian in the Cupboard

    Lynne Reid Banks

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, responsibility and imagination.

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  17. The Thief Lord

    Cornelia Funke

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  18. There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  19. A Handful of Stars

    Cynthia Lord

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers grandparent and child, blind dogs, grandparents.

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  20. Aliens Ate My Homework

    Bruce Coville

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers science fiction, life on other planets and extraterrestrial beings.

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  21. Backlash

    Sarah Darer Littman

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers neighbors, suicide and family life.

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  22. Because of Mr. Terupt

    Rob Buyea

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  23. Becoming Muhammad Ali

    James Patterson

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  24. Closed for the Season

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers neighbors, murder and friendship.

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  25. Deep and Dark and Dangerous

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  26. Drive-By

    Lynne Ewing

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers gangs, death, brothers and sisters.

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  27. Ella Enchanted

    Gail Carson Levine

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, fairy-tale and independence.

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  28. Guts

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers anxiety, growing up and courage.

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  29. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

    J.K. Rowling

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, courage and good vs evil. At 880L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  30. How to Eat Fried Worms

    Thomas Rockwell

    Cited in 1 Arizona curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers humor, friendship and school.

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51 books cited for Arizona 5th grade

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

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847 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 898-book total above includes 51 titles with direct Arizona citation; these 847 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have an Arizona-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 847 titles

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Other Arizona grades

4th grade · 6th grade · 3rd grade · 7th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

4th grade · 6th grade · 3rd grade · 7th grade

Same 5th grade in other states

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

Browse 5th grade reading by theme

About the Arizona 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Arizona ELA Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 5th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Golden Kite Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction. ReadingList currently tracks 898 titles for 5th grade in Arizona, of which 51 carry a direct Arizona citation and 847 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 5th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 390L–1020L.

5th grade sits in the 3-5 grade band, where students are transitional readers. At this stage the emphasis is on shifting from learning-to-read to reading-to-learn and sustaining attention across longer chapter books. Assigned reading skews toward early novels, narrative non-fiction, and a student's first assigned full-length stories, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 400L to 800L. Measured against that 740–1010L range, of the 59 titles here with a Lexile score 34 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 5th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Arizona’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Arizona ELA Standards (azed.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 5th grade list below blends Arizona-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 5th grade unit can pair a Arizona-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 5th grade students read in Arizona?
Books with an Arizona-specific citation for 5th grade include Bud, Not Buddy; Holes; New Kid; Shiloh and The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1). 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 5th grade students in Arizona?
This list has 898 books for 5th grade students in Arizona. 51 of them have an Arizona-specific citation; the other 847 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Arizona?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Arizona reading list range from 390L to 1020L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Arizona-specific entries reference Arizona ELA Standards (published at www.azed.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 5th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Golden Kite Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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

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