Michigan 6th grade reading list

Books with a Michigan citation for 6th grade include New Kid, When You Reach Me and One Crazy Summer. This list has 788 total books, 96 of them with a Michigan-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 360L to 1120L.

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

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Total books788Lexile360L–1120LSourceMichigan ELA 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 Michigan 6th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Michigan’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 Michigan 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. When You Reach Me

    Rebecca Stead

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers time travel (speculative), friendship and 1970s NYC. At 750L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  3. One Crazy Summer

    Rita Williams-Garcia

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, race and civil rights. At 750L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  4. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Michigan 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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  5. The Crossover

    Kwame Alexander

    Cited in 1 Michigan 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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  6. The Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Michigan 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 Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

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

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  8. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Michigan 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. Walk Two Moons

    Sharon Creech

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 7. Covers grief, family and identity. At 770L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  10. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Michigan 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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  11. A Mango-Shaped Space

    Wendy Mass

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8.

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  12. Blended

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers family, race and identity. At 610L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  13. Clementine

    Sara Pennypacker

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  14. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  15. Fish in a Tree

    Lynda Mullaly Hunt

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, friendship and school. At 550L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  16. Flora and Ulysses

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  17. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 Michigan 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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  18. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, inclusion and intelligence. At 700L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  19. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6.

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  20. The Indian in the Cupboard

    Lynne Reid Banks

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, responsibility and imagination.

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  21. The One and Only Ivan

    Katherine Applegate

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers animal welfare, captivity and freedom, friendship across species. At 570L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  22. The Penderwicks

    Jeanne Birdsall

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  23. The Thief Lord

    Cornelia Funke

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

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  24. Unspeakable

    Carole Boston Weatherford

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

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  25. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers refugees, family and hope.

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  26. Wonderstruck

    Brian Selznick

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  27. A Bad Case of Stripes

    David Shannon

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

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  28. Adopted by an Owl

    Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers great horned owl, owls as pets and biography.

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  29. Amari and the Night Brothers

    B. B. Alston

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers magic, family and courage.

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  30. Arnie, the Doughnut

    Laurie Keller

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers humorous stories and doughnuts.

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96 books cited for Michigan 6th grade

Assignments tied directly to Michigan’s Michigan ELA Standards with a Michigan-specific citation.

Show all 96 titles

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692 additional grade-appropriate books for 6th grade readers

The 788-book total above includes 96 titles with direct Michigan citation; these 692 additional titles cover 6th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Michigan-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 692 titles

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Other Michigan 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

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About the Michigan 6th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Michigan ELA 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 788 titles for 6th grade in Michigan, of which 96 carry a direct Michigan citation and 692 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 6th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 360L–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 61 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 53 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.

Michigan’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Michigan ELA Standards (michigan.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 6th grade list below blends Michigan-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 Michigan-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 Michigan?
Books with a Michigan-specific citation for 6th grade include New Kid, When You Reach Me, One Crazy Summer, El Deafo and The Crossover. 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 Michigan?
This list has 788 books for 6th grade students in Michigan. 96 of them have a Michigan-specific citation; the other 692 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 6th grade reading in Michigan?
Lexile measures across the 6th grade Michigan reading list range from 360L to 1120L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Michigan-specific entries reference Michigan ELA Standards (published at www.michigan.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.michigan.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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