New Mexico 5th grade reading list

Books with a New Mexico citation for 5th grade include Maniac Magee, The Tale of Despereaux and Shiloh. This list has 890 total books, 39 of them with a New Mexico-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top New Mexico 5th grade pick: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli — on 1 New Mexico list

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Total books890Lexile390L–1020LSourceNM Common Core✓ 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 New Mexico 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in New Mexico’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. Maniac Magee

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 New Mexico 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.

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  2. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 New Mexico 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.

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  3. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 New Mexico 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.

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  4. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 New Mexico 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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  5. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 New Mexico 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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  6. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 New Mexico 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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  7. Poppy

    Avi

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 9.

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  8. Ramona and Her Father

    Beverly Cleary

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers fathers, growing up and elementary school.

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  9. Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You

    Barthe DeClements

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers dyslexia, teacher-student relationships and schools.

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  10. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

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

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  11. Terror at the Zoo

    Peg Kehret

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers zoos in fiction, zoos, mystery and detective stories.

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  12. The Dollhouse Murders

    Betty Ren Wright

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

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  13. There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

    Louis Sachar

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

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  14. Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub

    Jamie Gilson

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

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  15. A Spoon for Every Bite

    Joe Hayes

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

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  16. Bunnicula

    Deborah Howe

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

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  17. Deep and Dark and Dangerous

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  18. El Cucuy!

    Joe Hayes

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

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  19. George Washington's Teeth

    Deborah Chandra

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

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  20. Gingerbread for Liberty!

    Mara Rockliff

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

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  21. Knights of the Kitchen Table

    Jon Scieszka

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

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  22. Library Lil

    Suzanne Williams

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

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  23. Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade

    Barthe DeClements

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

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  24. Pecos Bill

    Steven Kellogg

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

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  25. Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates

    Jonah Winter

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

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  26. Ruby Holler

    Sharon Creech

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

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  27. Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter

    Diane Stanley

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

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  28. So B. It

    Sarah Weeks

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, identity and journey.

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  29. Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker

    Megan McDonald

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

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  30. Stolen Children

    Peg Kehret

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

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39 books cited for New Mexico 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to New Mexico’s NM Common Core with a New Mexico-specific citation.

Show all 39 titles

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851 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 890-book total above includes 39 titles with direct New Mexico citation; these 851 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a New Mexico-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 851 titles

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Other New Mexico 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 New Mexico 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in NM Common Core 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 890 titles for 5th grade in New Mexico, of which 39 carry a direct New Mexico citation and 851 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 59 titles here with a Lexile score 34 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.

New Mexico’s English Language Arts requirements are set by NM Common Core (webnew.ped.state.nm.us). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 5th grade list below blends New Mexico-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 New Mexico-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 New Mexico?
Books with a New Mexico-specific citation for 5th grade include Maniac Magee, The Tale of Despereaux, Shiloh, Wonder and Because of Winn-Dixie. 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 New Mexico?
This list has 890 books for 5th grade students in New Mexico. 39 of them have a New Mexico-specific citation; the other 851 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in New Mexico?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade New Mexico 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?
New Mexico-specific entries reference NM Common Core (published at webnew.ped.state.nm.us). 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.

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State-specific entries sourced from webnew.ped.state.nm.us. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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