Indiana 5th grade reading list

Books with an Indiana citation for 5th grade include New Kid, Shiloh and Smile. This list has 903 total books, 58 of them with an Indiana-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top Indiana 5th grade pick: New Kid by Jerry Craft — on 1 Indiana list

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Total books903Lexile390L–1020LSourceIndiana Academic 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 Indiana 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Indiana’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 Indiana 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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  2. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Indiana 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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  3. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers growing up, friendship and self-acceptance. At 410L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Indiana 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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  5. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Indiana 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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  6. 11 Birthdays

    Wendy Mass

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  7. A Dog's Life

    Ann M. Martin

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

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  8. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Indiana 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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  9. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  10. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  11. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, resilience and self-reliance. At 1020L it runs above the 740–1010L band — a stretch text.

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  12. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, inclusion and intelligence. At 700L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  13. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Indiana 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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  14. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, perseverance and growing up. At 440L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  15. Small Steps

    Peg Kehret

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 10.

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  16. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

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

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  17. Ten Kids, No Pets

    Ann M. Martin

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

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  18. The War with Grandpa

    Robert Kimmel Smith

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  19. Wait Till Helen Comes

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers ghosts, family and jealousy.

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  20. Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger

    Louis Sachar

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

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  21. A Boy Called Bat

    Elana K. Arnold

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers neurodiversity, animals and family.

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  22. Abduction

    Peg Kehret

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

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  23. Among the Hidden

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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  24. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers puberty, menarche and christians.

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  25. Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job

    Willo Davis Roberts

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers babysitters, kidnapping and babysitters, fiction.

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  26. Because of Mr. Terupt

    Rob Buyea

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

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  27. Christina's Ghost

    Betty Ren Wright

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers children: grades 4-6, mystery and detective stories, ghosts, fiction.

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  28. Cliff-Hanger

    Alane Ferguson

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

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  29. Cryptid Hunters

    Roland Smith

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, mystery and family.

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  30. Dead Man in Indian Creek

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers mystery and detective stories, detective and mystery stories.

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58 books cited for Indiana 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to Indiana’s Indiana Academic Standards with a Indiana-specific citation.

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845 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 903-book total above includes 58 titles with direct Indiana citation; these 845 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have an Indiana-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

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Other Indiana 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 Indiana 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Indiana Academic 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 903 titles for 5th grade in Indiana, of which 58 carry a direct Indiana citation and 845 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 33 are grade-level, 25 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.

Indiana’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Indiana Academic Standards (in.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 5th grade list below blends Indiana-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 Indiana-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 Indiana?
Books with an Indiana-specific citation for 5th grade include New Kid; Shiloh; Smile; The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) and Wonder. 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 Indiana?
This list has 903 books for 5th grade students in Indiana. 58 of them have an Indiana-specific citation; the other 845 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Indiana?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Indiana 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?
Indiana-specific entries reference Indiana Academic Standards (published at www.in.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.in.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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