Louisiana 6th grade reading list

Books with a Louisiana citation for 6th grade include New Kid, Smile and The Crossover. This list has 727 total books, 15 of them with a Louisiana-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1120L.

Top Louisiana 6th grade pick: New Kid by Jerry Craft — on 1 Louisiana list

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Total books727Lexile410L–1120LSourceLouisiana Student 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 Louisiana 6th grade

These are the 15 titles named in Louisiana’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 Louisiana 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. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Louisiana 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. The Crossover

    Kwame Alexander

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, brotherhood and basketball. At 750L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers Greek mythology, neurodivergence (dyslexia, ADHD) and friendship. At 740L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  5. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers school, friendship and family. At 950L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  7. Allergic

    Megan Wagner Lloyd

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers new york times reviewed and comic books, strips, etc..

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  8. Found

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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  9. Game Changer

    Tommy Greenwald

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers football, injury and truth.

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  10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

    J.K. Rowling

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, courage and good vs evil. At 880L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  11. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

    Richard Paul Evans

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers powers, friendship and courage.

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  12. So B. It

    Sarah Weeks

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, identity and journey.

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  13. Swim Team

    Johnnie Christmas

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers perseverance, friendship and race.

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  14. The False Prince

    Jennifer A. Nielsen

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers identity, adventure and power.

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  15. Weslandia

    Paul Fleischman

    Cited in 1 Louisiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers civilization, gardening and individualism.

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15 books cited for Louisiana 6th grade

Assignments tied directly to Louisiana’s Louisiana Student Standards with a Louisiana-specific citation.

712 additional grade-appropriate books for 6th grade readers

The 727-book total above includes 15 titles with direct Louisiana citation; these 712 additional titles cover 6th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Louisiana-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 712 titles

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Other Louisiana 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 Louisiana 6th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Louisiana Student 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 727 titles for 6th grade in Louisiana, of which 15 carry a direct Louisiana citation and 712 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 6th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–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 57 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 49 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.

Louisiana’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Louisiana Student Standards (louisianabelieves.com). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 6th grade list below blends Louisiana-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 Louisiana-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 Louisiana?
Books with a Louisiana-specific citation for 6th grade include New Kid; Smile; The Crossover; 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 6th grade students in Louisiana?
This list has 727 books for 6th grade students in Louisiana. 15 of them have a Louisiana-specific citation; the other 712 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 6th grade reading in Louisiana?
Lexile measures across the 6th grade Louisiana reading list range from 410L to 1120L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Louisiana-specific entries reference Louisiana Student Standards (published at www.louisianabelieves.com). 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.

Reading guides for parents

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