Maryland 3rd grade reading list

Books with a Maryland citation for 3rd grade include 11 Birthdays, Because of Winn-Dixie and Creepy Carrots!. This list has 576 total books, 51 of them with a Maryland-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 380L to 1000L.

Top Maryland 3rd grade pick: 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass — on 1 Maryland list

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Total books576Lexile380L–1000LSourceMaryland College & Career Ready 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 Maryland 3rd grade

These are the 30 titles named in Maryland’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. 11 Birthdays

    Wendy Mass

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  2. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers loss, friendship and mother absence. At 610L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  3. Creepy Carrots!

    Aaron Reynolds

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 10.

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  4. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it runs above the 420–820L band — a stretch text.

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  5. Matilda

    Roald Dahl

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers intelligence, overcoming neglect and teacher-student bond. At 840L it runs above the 420–820L band — a stretch text.

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  6. Swim Team

    Johnnie Christmas

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

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  7. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Maryland 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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  8. A Bad Case of Stripes

    David Shannon

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers individuality, popularity and ficción juvenil.

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  9. Are You Scared, Darth Vader?

    Adam Rex

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers darth vader (fictitious character), fear and science fiction.

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  10. Best Frints in the Whole Universe

    Antoinette Portis

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers picture books, aliens and sci-fi.

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  11. Cat Secrets

    Jef Czekaj

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers cats and cats, fiction.

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  12. Chester

    Mélanie Watt

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers cats.

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  13. Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type

    Doreen Cronin

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers typewriters, vacas and domestic animals.

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  14. Cody Unplugged

    Betsy Duffey

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers camping, children, fiction, collectors and collecting.

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  15. Diary of a Wombat

    Jackie French

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers wombats, diaries and australia.

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  16. Dogtown

    Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, perseverance and humor.

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  17. Ellie's Story

    W. Bruce Cameron

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers working animals, search dogs and human-animal relationships.

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  18. Falling for Rapunzel

    Leah Wilcox

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers characters in literature, humorous stories and stories in rhyme.

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  19. Front Desk

    Kelly Yang

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers immigration, family and race. At 640L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  20. Fudge-a-Mania

    Judy Blume

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

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  21. Ghosts Don't Get Goose Bumps

    Elvira Woodruff

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers elective mutism, mutism, elective, mystery and detective stories.

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  22. Go Away, Big Green Monster

    Ed Emberley

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers bedtime, fear and monsters.

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  23. Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm

    Jerdine Nolen

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers balloons, farm life and tall tales.

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  24. I'm Trying to Love Spiders

    Bethany Barton

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 2.

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  25. Just Another Ordinary Day

    Rod Clement

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers schools, humorous stories and animals.

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  26. Let's Do Nothing

    Tony Fucile

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers play, humorous stories and friendship.

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  27. Memoirs of a Goldfish

    Devin Scillian

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers goldfish, friendship and picture books.

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  28. Mr. Fox's Game of "No!"

    David LaRochelle

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

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  29. No Talking

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  30. Norman Didn't Do It!

    Ryan T. Higgins

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

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51 books cited for Maryland 3rd grade

Assignments tied directly to Maryland’s Maryland College & Career Ready Standards with a Maryland-specific citation.

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525 additional grade-appropriate books for 3rd grade readers

The 576-book total above includes 51 titles with direct Maryland citation; these 525 additional titles cover 3rd grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Maryland-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

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Other Maryland 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 Maryland 3rd grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Maryland College & Career Ready 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 576 titles for 3rd grade in Maryland, of which 51 carry a direct Maryland citation and 525 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 54 titles here with a Lexile score 38 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.

Maryland’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Maryland College & Career Ready Standards (marylandpublicschools.org). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 3rd grade list below blends Maryland-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 Maryland-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 Maryland?
Books with a Maryland-specific citation for 3rd grade include 11 Birthdays, Because of Winn-Dixie, Creepy Carrots!, Frindle and Matilda. 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 Maryland?
This list has 576 books for 3rd grade students in Maryland. 51 of them have a Maryland-specific citation; the other 525 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 3rd grade reading in Maryland?
Lexile measures across the 3rd grade Maryland 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?
Maryland-specific entries reference Maryland College & Career Ready Standards (published at marylandpublicschools.org). 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.

Reading guides for parents

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