Montana 5th grade reading list

Books with a Montana citation for 5th grade include Bud, Not Buddy; Holes and Maniac Magee. This list has 866 total books, 35 of them with a Montana-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top Montana 5th grade pick: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis — on 1 Montana list

Get it on Amazon →

Affiliate link: as an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Total books866Lexile390L–1020LSourceMontana Content 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 Montana 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Montana’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. Bud, Not Buddy

    Christopher Paul Curtis

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers family, identity and perseverance. At 950L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  2. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Montana 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.

    Get it on Amazon

  3. Maniac Magee

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, homelessness and family. At 820L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  4. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

    Get it on Amazon

  5. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

    Robert C. O'Brien

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers family, courage, science and ethics. At 790L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  6. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers courage, forgiveness and light vs dark. At 670L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  7. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Montana 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.

    Get it on Amazon

  8. King of the Wind

    Marguerite Henry

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7.

    Get it on Amazon

  9. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers animal welfare, morality and family. At 890L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  10. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

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

    Get it on Amazon

  11. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Montana 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.

    Get it on Amazon

  12. 11 Birthdays

    Wendy Mass

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

    Get it on Amazon

  13. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Montana 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.

    Get it on Amazon

  14. Blubber

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers bullying, friendship and school.

    Get it on Amazon

  15. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers school, friendship and family. At 950L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  16. Dog Man

    Dav Pilkey

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers humor, friendship and good vs evil. At 390L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  17. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

    Get it on Amazon

  18. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Montana 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.

    Get it on Amazon

  19. Mr. Popper's Penguins

    Richard Atwater · Florence Atwater

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers family, adventure and imagination. At 910L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  20. Old Yeller

    Fred Gipson

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, courage and survival.

    Get it on Amazon

  21. Rascal

    Sterling North

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers nature, animals and family.

    Get it on Amazon

  22. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers refugees, survival and family. At 800L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  23. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Montana 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.

    Get it on Amazon

  24. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

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

    Get it on Amazon

  25. Swim Team

    Johnnie Christmas

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

    Get it on Amazon

  26. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers siblings, family and everyday life. At 470L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  27. The Dollhouse Murders

    Betty Ren Wright

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers mystery, family and ghosts.

    Get it on Amazon

  28. The Indian in the Cupboard

    Lynne Reid Banks

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

    Get it on Amazon

  29. The Lost Hero

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers mythology, heroism and memory.

    Get it on Amazon

  30. The Thief Lord

    Cornelia Funke

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

    Get it on Amazon

35 books cited for Montana 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to Montana’s Montana Content Standards with a Montana-specific citation.

Show all 35 titles

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

831 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 866-book total above includes 35 titles with direct Montana citation; these 831 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Montana-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 831 titles

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Know a parent or teacher who needs this? Share it:FacebookPinterest

Teacher or librarian? Print this list as a checklist — free to photocopy for your class or library (details).

Other Montana 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 Montana 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Montana Content 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 866 titles for 5th grade in Montana, of which 35 carry a direct Montana citation and 831 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 5th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 390L–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 58 titles here with a Lexile score 33 are grade-level, 24 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.

Montana’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Montana Content Standards (opi.mt.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 5th grade list below blends Montana-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 Montana-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 Montana?
Books with a Montana-specific citation for 5th grade include Bud, Not Buddy; Holes; Maniac Magee; New Kid and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. 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 Montana?
This list has 866 books for 5th grade students in Montana. 35 of them have a Montana-specific citation; the other 831 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Montana?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Montana reading list range from 390L to 1020L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Montana-specific entries reference Montana Content Standards (published at opi.mt.gov). 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

▸Embed this list on your site

Copy + paste this snippet into any school newsletter, classroom blog, library site, or homeschool resource page. The embed shows the top 12 titles and links back to the full list. Updates automatically when ReadingList’s data changes.

<iframe src="https://readinglist.school/embed/grade/5" width="100%" height="540" style="border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-radius:6px;max-width:640px" loading="lazy" title="5th grade reading list — ReadingList.school"></iframe>

Preview: /embed/grade/5 · License: CC BY 4.0 (please credit “ReadingList.school”).

Was this page helpful?

Browse by another angle

State-specific entries sourced from opi.mt.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

Find ReadingList in your Google results more often: