Iowa 8th grade reading list

Books with an Iowa citation for 8th grade include New Kid, Smile and Among the Hidden. This list has 547 total books, 7 of them with an Iowa-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1300L.

Top Iowa 8th grade pick: New Kid by Jerry Craft — on 1 Iowa list

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Total books547Lexile410L–1300LSourceIowa Core✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Middle (6–8) titles appearing in the most states are The Giver (20 states), The Hunger Games (14 states), and Ground Zero (8 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Our pick to start — most-cited for Iowa 8th grade

These are the 7 titles named in Iowa’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 Iowa curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

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  2. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Iowa 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 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  3. Among the Hidden

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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  4. Mick Harte Was Here

    Barbara Park

    Cited in 1 Iowa curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers grief, family and safety.

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  5. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 Iowa curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers identity, bullying and memory. At 730L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  6. The Ghost of Fossil Glen

    Cynthia C. DeFelice

    Cited in 1 Iowa curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers imagination, diaries and ghosts.

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  7. The Ghost of Graylock

    Dan Poblocki

    Cited in 1 Iowa curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers ghosts, mystery and fear.

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7 books cited for Iowa 8th grade

Assignments tied directly to Iowa’s Iowa Core with a Iowa-specific citation.

540 additional grade-appropriate books for 8th grade readers

The 547-book total above includes 7 titles with direct Iowa citation; these 540 additional titles cover 8th grade in the broader canon. They don't have an Iowa-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 540 titles

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Other Iowa grades

7th grade · 9th grade · 6th grade · 10th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

7th grade · 9th grade · 6th grade · 10th grade

Same 8th grade in other states

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

Browse 8th grade reading by theme

About the Iowa 8th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Iowa Core with books from national sources that list titles for 8th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. ReadingList currently tracks 547 titles for 8th grade in Iowa, of which 7 carry a direct Iowa citation and 540 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 8th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1300L.

8th grade sits in the 6-8 grade band, where students are middle-grade readers. At this stage the emphasis is on analyzing theme, character, and author's craft across full-length novels and their first classics. Assigned reading skews toward full-length novels, plays, memoir, and frequently-challenged contemporary titles, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 700L to 1010L. Measured against that 925–1185L range, of the 34 titles here with a Lexile score 8 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 8th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Iowa’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Iowa Core (educate.iowa.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 8th grade list below blends Iowa-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 8th grade unit can pair a Iowa-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 8th grade students read in Iowa?
Books with an Iowa-specific citation for 8th grade include New Kid, Smile, Among the Hidden, Mick Harte Was Here and Restart. 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 8th grade students in Iowa?
This list has 547 books for 8th grade students in Iowa. 7 of them have an Iowa-specific citation; the other 540 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 8th grade reading in Iowa?
Lexile measures across the 8th grade Iowa reading list range from 410L to 1300L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Iowa-specific entries reference Iowa Core (published at educate.iowa.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 8th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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

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