Kansas 6th grade reading list

Books with a Kansas citation for 6th grade include Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Ghost and 96 Miles. This list has 778 total books, 80 of them with a Kansas-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 360L to 1120L.

Top Kansas 6th grade pick: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein — on 2 Kansas lists

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Total books778Lexile360L–1120LSourceKansas Academic Standards✓ 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 Kansas 6th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Kansas’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. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  2. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers running, family violence and mentorship. At 730L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  3. 96 Miles

    J. L. Esplin

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  4. A Million Ways Home

    Dianna Dorisi-Winget

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  5. Buddy

    M. H. Herlong

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  6. Confetti Girl

    Diana López

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  7. Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam

    Cynthia Kadohata

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  8. Ghost Boys

    Jewell Parker Rhodes

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, justice and family. At 360L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  9. Ghost Dog Secrets

    Peg Kehret

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  10. Ground Zero

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  11. Hidden

    Helen Frost

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  12. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, 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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  13. The Boy Who Dared

    Susan Campbell Bartoletti

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  14. The Fort

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  15. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

    Dan Gemeinhart

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers grief, family and journey.

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  16. Took

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 2 Kansas curriculum documents, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  17. Bud, Not Buddy

    Christopher Paul Curtis

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers family, identity and perseverance. At 950L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  18. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers fate vs choice, friendship and justice. At 660L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  19. Maniac Magee

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, homelessness and family. At 820L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  20. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

    Robert C. O'Brien

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers family, courage, science and ethics. At 790L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  21. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers animal welfare, morality and family. At 890L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  22. The Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers conformity vs individuality, memory, utopia and dystopia. At 760L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  23. A Dog's Life

    Ann M. Martin

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

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  24. Amos Fortune, Free Man

    Elizabeth Yates

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

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  25. Clementine

    Sara Pennypacker

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  26. Fish in a Tree

    Lynda Mullaly Hunt

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, friendship and school. At 550L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  27. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  28. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

    E.L. Konigsburg

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers independence, art and running away. At 700L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  29. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, resilience and self-reliance. At 1020L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  30. Island of the Blue Dolphins

    Scott O'Dell

    Cited in 1 Kansas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers survival, solitude and indigenous identity. At 1000L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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80 books cited for Kansas 6th grade

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

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698 additional grade-appropriate books for 6th grade readers

The 778-book total above includes 80 titles with direct Kansas citation; these 698 additional titles cover 6th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Kansas-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

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Other Kansas grades

5th grade · 7th grade · 4th grade · 8th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

5th grade · 7th grade · 4th grade · 8th grade

Same 6th grade in other states

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

Browse 6th grade reading by theme

About the Kansas 6th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Kansas Academic Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 6th 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 Newbery Medal. ReadingList currently tracks 778 titles for 6th grade in Kansas, of which 80 carry a direct Kansas citation and 698 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 6th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 360L–1120L.

6th 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 59 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 51 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 0 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 6th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Kansas’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Kansas Academic Standards (ksde.org). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 6th grade list below blends Kansas-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 6th grade unit can pair a Kansas-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 6th grade students read in Kansas?
Books with a Kansas-specific citation for 6th grade include Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Ghost, 96 Miles, A Million Ways Home and Buddy. 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 6th grade students in Kansas?
This list has 778 books for 6th grade students in Kansas. 80 of them have a Kansas-specific citation; the other 698 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 6th grade reading in Kansas?
Lexile measures across the 6th grade Kansas reading list range from 360L to 1120L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Kansas-specific entries reference Kansas Academic Standards (published at www.ksde.org). The other books come from national sources that list books for 6th 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 Newbery Medal. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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State-specific entries sourced from www.ksde.org. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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