Nebraska 3rd grade reading list

Books with a Nebraska citation for 3rd grade include Because of Winn-Dixie, Creepy Carrots! and John Henry. This list has 604 total books, 77 of them with a Nebraska-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 380L to 1000L.

Top Nebraska 3rd grade pick: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo — on 1 Nebraska 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 books604Lexile380L–1000LSourceNebraska ELA 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 Nebraska 3rd grade

These are the 30 titles named in Nebraska’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. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Nebraska 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.

    Get it on Amazon

  2. Creepy Carrots!

    Aaron Reynolds

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

    Get it on Amazon

  3. John Henry

    Julius Lester

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 5.

    Get it on Amazon

  4. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

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

    Get it on Amazon

  5. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Nebraska 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.

    Get it on Amazon

  6. A Dog Called Kitty

    Wallace, Bill

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers dogs.

    Get it on Amazon

  7. Baby Monkey, Private Eye

    Brian Selznick

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers private investigators, humorous stories and monkeys.

    Get it on Amazon

  8. Because of Mr. Terupt

    Rob Buyea

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

    Get it on Amazon

  9. Bedhead

    Margie Palatini

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers hair, hair -- fiction and hair, fiction.

    Get it on Amazon

  10. Bubba the Cowboy Prince

    Helen Ketteman

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers humorous stories, cowboys, wit and humor.

    Get it on Amazon

  11. Bunnicula

    Deborah Howe

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

    Get it on Amazon

  12. Chez Bob

    Bob Shea

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

    Get it on Amazon

  13. Closed for the Season

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers neighbors, murder and friendship.

    Get it on Amazon

  14. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

    Judi Barrett

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers food, weather and humorous stories.

    Get it on Amazon

  15. Crash, Splash, or Moo!

    Bob Shea

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers humorous stories, animals and guessing games.

    Get it on Amazon

  16. Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library!

    Vicki Myron

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

    Get it on Amazon

  17. Don’t Touch My Room

    Patricia Lakin

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers babies, brothers and infants.

    Get it on Amazon

  18. Escaping the Giant Wave

    Peg Kehret

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

    Get it on Amazon

  19. Even Monsters Need Haircuts

    Matthew McElligott

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers barbers, humorous stories and haircutting.

    Get it on Amazon

  20. Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizards in the Fridge

    Bill Wallace

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

    Get it on Amazon

  21. Fuzzy Mud

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers environment, adventure and schools.

    Get it on Amazon

  22. Gaston

    Kelly DiPucchio

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

    Get it on Amazon

  23. If I Built a Car

    Chris Van Dusen

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

    Get it on Amazon

  24. If I Built a School

    Chris Van Dusen

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

    Get it on Amazon

  25. Is Anybody There?

    Eve Bunting

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers mothers and sons, latchkey children, latchkey children in fiction.

    Get it on Amazon

  26. Jaguar

    Roland Smith

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers rain forests, jaguar, adventure and adventurers.

    Get it on Amazon

  27. Loser

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers families, family and elementary schools.

    Get it on Amazon

  28. Madeline Finn and the Library Dog

    Lisa Papp

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade K to 2. Covers libraries, dogs and dogs, fiction.

    Get it on Amazon

  29. Martha Speaks

    Susan Meddaugh

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers dogs, spanish language materials and ficción juvenil.

    Get it on Amazon

  30. Maxi’s Secrets: (Or, What You Can Learn from a Dog)

    Lynn Plourde

    Cited in 1 Nebraska curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

    Get it on Amazon

77 books cited for Nebraska 3rd grade

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

Show all 77 titles

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

527 additional grade-appropriate books for 3rd grade readers

The 604-book total above includes 77 titles with direct Nebraska citation; these 527 additional titles cover 3rd grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Nebraska-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 527 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 3rd grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Nebraska ELA 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 604 titles for 3rd grade in Nebraska, of which 77 carry a direct Nebraska citation and 527 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 52 titles here with a Lexile score 36 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.

Nebraska’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Nebraska ELA Standards (education.ne.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 3rd grade list below blends Nebraska-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 Nebraska-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 Nebraska?
Books with a Nebraska-specific citation for 3rd grade include Because of Winn-Dixie, Creepy Carrots!, John Henry, Superfudge 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 3rd grade students in Nebraska?
This list has 604 books for 3rd grade students in Nebraska. 77 of them have a Nebraska-specific citation; the other 527 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 3rd grade reading in Nebraska?
Lexile measures across the 3rd grade Nebraska 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?
Nebraska-specific entries reference Nebraska ELA Standards (published at www.education.ne.gov). 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

▸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/3" width="100%" height="540" style="border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-radius:6px;max-width:640px" loading="lazy" title="3rd grade reading list — ReadingList.school"></iframe>

Preview: /embed/grade/3 · License: CC BY 4.0 (please credit “ReadingList.school”).

Was this page helpful?

Browse by another angle

State-specific entries sourced from www.education.ne.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

Find ReadingList in your Google results more often: