Florida 5th grade reading list

Books with a Florida citation for 5th grade include The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1); Holes and Number the Stars. This list has 888 total books, 29 of them with a Florida-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top Florida 5th grade pick: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan — on 3 Florida lists

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Total books888Lexile390L–1020LSourceB.E.S.T. 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 Florida 5th grade

These are the 29 titles named in Florida’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. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 3 Florida curriculum documents 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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  2. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Florida 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. Number the Stars

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, friendship and Holocaust. At 670L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  4. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

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

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  5. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers loss, friendship and mother absence. At 610L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  6. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  7. Amari and the Night Brothers

    B. B. Alston

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers magic, family and courage.

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  8. Among the Hidden

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers freedom, identity and resistance.

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  9. Curveball

    Pablo Cartaya

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers friendship, perseverance and family.

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  10. Escaping the Giant Wave

    Peg Kehret

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6.

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  11. Found

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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  12. Growing Home

    Beth Ferry

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers friendship, family and perseverance.

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  13. J vs. K

    Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers friendship, school and humor.

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  14. Midnight at the Barclay Hotel

    Fleur Bradley

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

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  15. Misfit Mansion

    Kay Davault

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers friendship, identity and courage.

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  16. Pie

    Sarah Weeks

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers families, cooking and mother-daughter relationship.

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  17. Punycorn

    Andi Watson

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers courage, humor and perseverance.

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  18. Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen

    Candace Fleming

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

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  19. The Adventures of Invisible Boy

    Doogie Horner

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

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  20. The Area 51 Files

    Julie Buxbaum

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

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  21. The Candymakers

    Wendy Mass

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers secrets, contests and friendship.

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  22. The City of Ember

    Jeanne DuPrau

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

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  23. The Cursed Moon

    Angela Cervantes

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers fear, family and ghosts.

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  24. The House at the Edge of Magic

    Amy Sparkes

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers courage, identity and perseverance.

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  25. The Sherlock Society

    James Ponti

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers mystery, friendship and family.

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  26. The Terrible Two

    Mac Barnett

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

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  27. The Wild Robot

    Peter Brown

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers nature, survival and family. At 740L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  28. Wedgie & Gizmo

    Suzanne Selfors

    Cited in 1 Florida curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers stepfamilies, guinea pigs and hispanic americans.

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  29. Wish

    Barbara O'Connor

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

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29 books cited for Florida 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards with a Florida-specific citation.

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859 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 888-book total above includes 29 titles with direct Florida citation; these 859 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Florida-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 859 titles

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Other Florida 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 · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois · Ohio

Browse 5th grade reading by theme

About the Florida 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in B.E.S.T. 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 888 titles for 5th grade in Florida, of which 29 carry a direct Florida citation and 859 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.

Florida’s English Language Arts requirements are set by B.E.S.T. Standards (fldoe.org). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 5th grade list below blends Florida-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 Florida-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 Florida?
Books with a Florida-specific citation for 5th grade include The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1); Holes; Number the Stars; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Because of Winn-Dixie. 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 Florida?
This list has 888 books for 5th grade students in Florida. 29 of them have a Florida-specific citation; the other 859 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Florida?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Florida 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?
Florida-specific entries reference B.E.S.T. Standards (published at www.fldoe.org). 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.fldoe.org. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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