Maine 6th grade reading list

Books with a Maine citation for 6th grade include New Kid, Holes and El Deafo. This list has 761 total books, 60 of them with a Maine-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1120L.

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

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Total books761Lexile410L–1120LSourceMaine Learning Results✓ 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 Maine 6th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Maine’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 Maine 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. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Maine 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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  3. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers disability, friendship and self-acceptance. At 420L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  4. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Maine 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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  5. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Maine 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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  6. The Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Maine 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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  7. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Maine 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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  8. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers courage, forgiveness and light vs dark. At 670L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  9. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Maine 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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  10. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 Maine 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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  11. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  12. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document 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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  13. Number the Stars

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, friendship and Holocaust. At 670L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  14. Puzzleheart

    Jenn Reese

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers mystery, family and puzzles.

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  15. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers refugees, survival and family. At 800L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  16. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, perseverance and growing up. At 440L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  17. The Hunger Games

    Suzanne Collins

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers authoritarianism, survival, media and spectacle. At 810L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  18. A Game of Noctis

    Deva Fagan

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers adventure, ambition and fantasy.

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  19. Alone

    Megan E. Freeman

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

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  20. Amir and the Jinn Princess

    M. T. Khan

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers fantasy, family and courage.

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  21. Between Two Brothers

    Crystal Allen

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers family, brothers and grief.

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  22. Boy 2.0

    Tracey Baptiste

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers identity, family and adventure.

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  23. Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody

    Patrick Ness

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers friendship, school and humor.

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  24. Code Name Kingfisher

    Liz Kessler

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers history, courage and family.

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  25. Ella Enchanted

    Gail Carson Levine

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, fairy-tale and independence.

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  26. Evidence! How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera

    Deborah Hopkinson

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers science, history and biography.

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  27. Falling Up

    Shel Silverstein

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

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  28. Fudge-a-Mania

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6.

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  29. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    J. K. Rowling

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers fantasy fiction, orphans and foster homes.

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  30. Impossible Creatures

    Katherine Rundell

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers fantasy, courage and friendship.

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60 books cited for Maine 6th grade

Assignments tied directly to Maine’s Maine Learning Results with a Maine-specific citation.

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701 additional grade-appropriate books for 6th grade readers

The 761-book total above includes 60 titles with direct Maine citation; these 701 additional titles cover 6th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Maine-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 701 titles

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Other Maine 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

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About the Maine 6th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Maine Learning Results 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 761 titles for 6th grade in Maine, of which 60 carry a direct Maine citation and 701 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 56 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 48 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.

Maine’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Maine Learning Results (maine.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 6th grade list below blends Maine-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 Maine-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 Maine?
Books with a Maine-specific citation for 6th grade include New Kid, Holes, El Deafo, Shiloh and Smile. 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 Maine?
This list has 761 books for 6th grade students in Maine. 60 of them have a Maine-specific citation; the other 701 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 6th grade reading in Maine?
Lexile measures across the 6th grade Maine 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?
Maine-specific entries reference Maine Learning Results (published at www.maine.gov). 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.maine.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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