Kentucky 3rd grade reading list

Books with a Kentucky citation for 3rd grade include The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. This list has 565 total books, 43 of them with a Kentucky-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 380L to 1000L.

Top Kentucky 3rd grade pick: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo — on 1 Kentucky list

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Total books565Lexile380L–1000LSourceKentucky 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 Kentucky 3rd grade

These are the 30 titles named in Kentucky’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 Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers courage, forgiveness and light vs dark. At 670L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  2. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

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

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  3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers school, friendship and family. At 950L it runs above the 420–820L band — a stretch text.

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  4. Dog Man

    Dav Pilkey

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers humor, friendship and good vs evil. At 390L it sits just under the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  5. Hey, Al

    Arthur Yorinks

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 3.

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  6. Officer Buckle and Gloria

    Peggy Rathmann

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 3.

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  7. So You Want to be President

    Judith George

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 3.

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  8. The Invention of Hugo Cabret

    Brian Selznick

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

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  9. Tuesday

    David Wiesner

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 3.

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  10. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  11. A Perfect Pork Stew

    Paul Brett Johnson

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers witches, baba yaga (legendary character) and pigs, fiction.

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  12. Albert

    Donna Jo Napoli

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers birds, nests and birds, fiction.

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  13. Avalon High

    Meg Cabot

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers arthur, in fiction, high schools and high schools in fiction.

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  14. Basket

    George Ella Lyon

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers baskets, grandmothers and grandparents, fiction.

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  15. Call Me Hope

    Gretchen Olson

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers child abuse, stress (physiology) and schools.

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  16. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

    Bill Martin Jr.

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers stories in rhyme, alphabet and alphabet rhymes.

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  17. Class Clown

    Johanna Hurwitz

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers schools, behavior and behavior, fiction.

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  18. Duke

    Kirby Larson

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers german shepherd dog, war use and world war, 1939-1945.

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  19. Giants Beware

    Jorge Aguirre

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers graphic novels, fairy tales and giants.

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  20. Hooway for Wodney Wat

    Helen Lester

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3.

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  21. Knocked Out by Nunga-Nungas

    Louise Rennison

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers diaries, humor (fiction) and humorous stories.

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  22. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

    Kevin Henkes

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers teachers, schools and mice.

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  23. Max and the Midknights

    Lincoln Peirce

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers adventure, humor and identity.

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  24. Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle

    Brian Dennis

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8.

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  25. Odder

    Katherine Applegate

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

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  26. Piggie Pie!

    Margie Palatini

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers humorous stories, witches and domestic animals.

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  27. Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore!

    David McPhail

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3.

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  28. Scranimals

    Jack Prelutsky

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers animals, mythical.

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  29. Secrets of the Mummies

    Shelley Tanaka

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers mummies, antiquities and civilization.

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  30. Smoky Mountain Rose

    Alan Schroeder

    Cited in 1 Kentucky curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers fairy tales, folklore and chr 1997.

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43 books cited for Kentucky 3rd grade

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

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522 additional grade-appropriate books for 3rd grade readers

The 565-book total above includes 43 titles with direct Kentucky citation; these 522 additional titles cover 3rd grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Kentucky-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

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Other Kentucky grades

2nd grade · 4th grade · 1st grade · 5th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

2nd grade · 4th grade · 1st grade · 5th grade

Same 3rd grade in other states

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

Browse 3rd grade reading by theme

About the Kentucky 3rd grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Kentucky Academic Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 3rd grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Newbery Medal, the Golden Kite Award and the Caldecott Medal. ReadingList currently tracks 565 titles for 3rd grade in Kentucky, of which 43 carry a direct Kentucky citation and 522 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 3rd grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 380L–1000L.

3rd 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 420–820L range, of the 52 titles here with a Lexile score 36 are grade-level, 2 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 14 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 3rd grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Kentucky’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Kentucky Academic Standards (education.ky.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 3rd grade list below blends Kentucky-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 3rd grade unit can pair a Kentucky-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 3rd grade students read in Kentucky?
Books with a Kentucky-specific citation for 3rd grade include The Tale of Despereaux; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane; Diary of a Wimpy Kid; Dog Man and Hey, Al. 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 3rd grade students in Kentucky?
This list has 565 books for 3rd grade students in Kentucky. 43 of them have a Kentucky-specific citation; the other 522 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 3rd grade reading in Kentucky?
Lexile measures across the 3rd grade Kentucky reading list range from 380L to 1000L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Kentucky-specific entries reference Kentucky Academic Standards (published at www.education.ky.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 3rd grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Newbery Medal, the Golden Kite Award and the Caldecott Medal. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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State-specific entries sourced from www.education.ky.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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