Arkansas 3rd grade reading list

Books with an Arkansas citation for 3rd grade include Sarah, Plain and Tall; The Tale of Despereaux and Shiloh. This list has 539 total books, 17 of them with an Arkansas-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 380L to 1000L.

Top Arkansas 3rd grade pick: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan — on 1 Arkansas list

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Total books539Lexile380L–1000LSourceArkansas 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 Arkansas 3rd grade

These are the 17 titles named in Arkansas’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. Sarah, Plain and Tall

    Patricia MacLachlan

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers family, loss and new beginnings. At 660L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  2. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers courage, forgiveness and light vs dark. At 670L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  3. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers animal welfare, morality and family. At 890L it runs above the 420–820L band — a stretch text.

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  4. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers siblings, family and everyday life. At 470L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  5. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

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

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  6. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers loss, friendship and mother absence. At 610L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  7. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it runs above the 420–820L band — a stretch text.

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  8. Lifeboat 12

    Susan Hood

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7.

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  9. The Whipping Boy

    Sid Fleischman

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers friendship, adventure and courage.

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  10. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  11. Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel

    Rex Ogle

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers self-image, middle school and family.

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  12. No Talking

    Andrew Clements

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

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  13. Ramona Quimby, Age 8

    Beverly Cleary

    Cited in 1 Arkansas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers family, school and growing up. At 860L it runs above the 420–820L band — a stretch text.

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  14. Skeleton Man

    Joseph Bruchac

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

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  15. The Best School Year Ever

    Barbara Robinson

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

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  16. The Boy on the Porch

    Sharon Creech

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

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  17. Wish

    Barbara O'Connor

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

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17 books cited for Arkansas 3rd grade

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

522 additional grade-appropriate books for 3rd grade readers

The 539-book total above includes 17 titles with direct Arkansas citation; these 522 additional titles cover 3rd grade in the broader canon. They don't have an Arkansas-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 522 titles

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Other Arkansas grades

2nd grade · 4th grade · 1st grade · 5th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

2nd grade · 4th grade · 1st grade · 5th grade

Same 3rd grade in other states

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

Browse 3rd grade reading by theme

About the Arkansas 3rd grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Arkansas ELA Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 3rd grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Newbery Medal, the Golden Kite Award and the Caldecott Medal. ReadingList currently tracks 539 titles for 3rd grade in Arkansas, of which 17 carry a direct Arkansas citation and 522 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 3rd grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 380L–1000L.

3rd 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 420–820L range, of the 53 titles here with a Lexile score 36 are grade-level, 2 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 15 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 3rd grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Arkansas’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Arkansas ELA Standards (dese.ade.arkansas.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 3rd grade list below blends Arkansas-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 3rd grade unit can pair a Arkansas-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 3rd grade students read in Arkansas?
Books with an Arkansas-specific citation for 3rd grade include Sarah, Plain and Tall; The Tale of Despereaux; Shiloh; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. 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 3rd grade students in Arkansas?
This list has 539 books for 3rd grade students in Arkansas. 17 of them have an Arkansas-specific citation; the other 522 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 3rd grade reading in Arkansas?
Lexile measures across the 3rd grade Arkansas reading list range from 380L to 1000L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Arkansas-specific entries reference Arkansas ELA Standards (published at dese.ade.arkansas.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 3rd grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Newbery Medal, the Golden Kite Award and the Caldecott Medal. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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State-specific entries sourced from dese.ade.arkansas.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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