Maryland 5th grade reading list

Books with a Maryland citation for 5th grade include Holes, El Deafo and Matilda. This list has 918 total books, 66 of them with a Maryland-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 360L to 1020L.

Top Maryland 5th grade pick: Holes by Louis Sachar — on 1 Maryland list

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Total books918Lexile360L–1020LSourceMaryland 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 5th 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. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers fate vs choice, friendship and justice. At 660L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Maryland 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 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  3. Matilda

    Roald Dahl

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers intelligence, overcoming neglect and teacher-student bond. At 840L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  4. The Crossover

    Kwame Alexander

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, brotherhood and basketball. At 750L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  5. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  6. 11 Birthdays

    Wendy Mass

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

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  7. 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 sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  8. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  9. 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 falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  10. Frizzy

    Claribel Ortega

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 5.

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  11. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, inclusion and intelligence. At 700L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  12. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Maryland 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 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  13. 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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  14. 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents

    Lee Wardlaw

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers family life, moneymaking projects, parent and child.

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  15. A Night Divided

    Jennifer A. Nielsen

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers courage, freedom and family.

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  16. A Wolf Called Wander

    Rosanne Parry

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers new york times bestseller, wolves, fiction and animals, infancy, fiction.

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  17. All's Faire in Middle School

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers renaissance fairs, middle schools and schools.

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  18. Allergic

    Megan Wagner Lloyd

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

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  19. Allies

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers war, courage and sacrifice.

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  20. Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity

    Dave Roman

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

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  21. Best Friends

    Shannon Hale

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

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  22. City Spies

    James Ponti

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

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  23. 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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  24. Crush

    Svetlana Chmakova

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers middle schools, graphic novels and comic books, strips.

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  25. 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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  26. Eerie Tales from the School of Screams

    Graham Annable

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

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  27. Ella Enchanted

    Gail Carson Levine

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

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  28. 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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  29. Fourth Grade Rats

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers conduct of life, schools and friendship.

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  30. Front Desk

    Kelly Yang

    Cited in 1 Maryland curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers immigration, family and race. At 640L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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66 books cited for Maryland 5th grade

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

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852 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 918-book total above includes 66 titles with direct Maryland citation; these 852 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Maryland-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 852 titles

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Other Maryland grades

4th grade · 6th grade · 3rd grade · 7th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

4th grade · 6th grade · 3rd grade · 7th grade

Same 5th grade in other states

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

Browse 5th grade reading by theme

About the Maryland 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Maryland College & Career Ready Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 5th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Golden Kite Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction. ReadingList currently tracks 918 titles for 5th grade in Maryland, of which 66 carry a direct Maryland citation and 852 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 5th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 360L–1020L.

5th 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 740–1010L range, of the 63 titles here with a Lexile score 34 are grade-level, 28 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 1 is a stretch text that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 5th 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 5th 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 5th 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 5th grade students read in Maryland?
Books with a Maryland-specific citation for 5th grade include Holes, El Deafo, Matilda, The Crossover 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 5th grade students in Maryland?
This list has 918 books for 5th grade students in Maryland. 66 of them have a Maryland-specific citation; the other 852 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Maryland?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Maryland reading list range from 360L to 1020L. 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 5th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Golden Kite Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

Reading guides for parents

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