Iowa school reading list

Iowa K-12 schools commonly assign 1150 books referenced by the Iowa Core — organized below by grade, K–12. Source: educate.iowa.gov.

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This page lists books cited in the Iowa state ELA standards or applicable national curricula. Not a district reading list, school assignment list, or summaries — for those, check your district’s ELA page directly.

1150 books cited for Iowa

Assignments tied to Iowa’s Iowa Core or to a national curriculum (Common Core, AP, IB) that applies to Iowa students.

Show all 1150 titles

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Narrow by grade

Or see what's assigned nationwide: Kindergarten · 1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th · 6th · 7th · 8th · 9th · 10th · 11th · 12th

Reading programs in Iowa

Iowa runs a statewide children's-choice reading program — students read each year's nominees and vote for their favorite. See the full book list for each:

National curricula that apply in Iowa

AP, IB and Cambridge courses set the same texts everywhere, and Common Core ELA standards apply where Iowa has adopted or adapted them. See what each one assigns:

Banned & challenged books in Iowa schools — 24 titles →

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Frequently asked questions

What books do Iowa schools assign?

1150 books are referenced by the Iowa Core across K-12 grades, including applicable national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) that overlay the state framework.

What ELA standards does Iowa use?

Iowa follows Iowa Core. Primary source: the Iowa Department of Education at educate.iowa.gov/. Cross-referenced with Common Core State Standards exemplars at achievethecore.org.

Are Iowa reading lists Common Core aligned?

Most Iowa K-12 reading assignments align with Common Core ELA standards where the state has adopted or adapted them. National AP English / IB English curricula apply uniformly regardless of state. The Course schema above + per-book pages cite the standard origin for each title.

How do I find the reading list for a specific Iowa grade?

Browse by grade at /state/iowa/grade/[grade] (e.g. /state/iowa/grade/5 for 5th grade). Or start at the all-grades /grade page for grade-only filtering across all states. Each book page lists the standard + grade-level assignments.

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State-level reading references are sourced from published state departments of education. National references (Common Core exemplars, AP, IB) apply on top of state standards and appear on each book’s detail page.