North Dakota 7th grade reading list

Books with a North Dakota citation for 7th grade include Holes, Maniac Magee and Blubber. This list has 748 total books, 44 of them with a North Dakota-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1300L.

Top North Dakota 7th grade pick: Holes by Louis Sachar — on 1 North Dakota list

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Total books748Lexile410L–1300LSourceND 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 North Dakota 7th grade

These are the 30 titles named in North Dakota’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 North Dakota curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers fate vs choice, friendship and justice. At 660L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  2. Maniac Magee

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, homelessness and family. At 820L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  3. Blubber

    Judy Blume

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

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  4. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  5. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, resilience and self-reliance. At 1020L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  6. Long Way Down

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 7 to 12. Covers grief, revenge and family. At 720L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  7. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 North Dakota 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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  8. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers refugees, survival and family. At 800L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  9. Schooled

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers middle school students, teenage boys and home schooling.

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  10. The Evil Wizard Smallbone

    Delia Sherman

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  11. The Invention of Hugo Cabret

    Brian Selznick

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

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  12. The One and Only Ivan

    Katherine Applegate

    Cited in 1 North Dakota 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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  13. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document and 1 national reference, 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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  14. A Wish in the Dark

    Christina Soontornvat

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  15. Amari and the Night Brothers

    B. B. Alston

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

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  16. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers puberty, menarche and christians.

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  17. How to Fight a Girl

    Thomas Rockwell

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  18. Inkheart

    Cornelia Funke

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

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  19. Island Book One: Shipwreck

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  20. Mick Harte Was Here

    Barbara Park

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers grief, family and safety.

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  21. Miss Daisy is Crazy

    Dan Gutman

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  22. Noodleheads See the Future

    Tedd Arnold

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  23. Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade

    Barthe DeClements

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

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  24. On My Honor

    Marion Dane Bauer

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  25. Punished!

    David Lubar

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  26. Rescue Josh McGuire

    Ben Mikaelsen

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers wildlife rescue, orphaned animals and bears.

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  27. Scared Silly: A Halloween Treat

    James Howe

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  28. Shiloh Season

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers kindness, dogs and dogs, fiction.

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  29. Skeleton Man

    Joseph Bruchac

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers kidnapping, psychopaths and mohawk indians.

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  30. Snake and Lizard

    Joy Cowley

    Cited in 1 North Dakota curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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44 books cited for North Dakota 7th grade

Assignments tied directly to North Dakota’s ND ELA Standards with a North Dakota-specific citation.

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704 additional grade-appropriate books for 7th grade readers

The 748-book total above includes 44 titles with direct North Dakota citation; these 704 additional titles cover 7th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a North Dakota-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 704 titles

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Other North Dakota grades

6th grade · 8th grade · 5th grade · 9th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

6th grade · 8th grade · 5th grade · 9th grade

Same 7th grade in other states

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

Browse 7th grade reading by theme

About the North Dakota 7th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in ND ELA Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 7th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Newbery Medal and the Golden Kite Award. ReadingList currently tracks 748 titles for 7th grade in North Dakota, of which 44 carry a direct North Dakota citation and 704 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 7th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1300L.

7th 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 62 titles here with a Lexile score 10 are grade-level, 51 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 1 is a stretch text that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 7th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

North Dakota’s English Language Arts requirements are set by ND ELA Standards (nd.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 7th grade list below blends North Dakota-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 7th grade unit can pair a North Dakota-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 7th grade students read in North Dakota?
Books with a North Dakota-specific citation for 7th grade include Holes, Maniac Magee, Blubber, Frindle and Hatchet. 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 7th grade students in North Dakota?
This list has 748 books for 7th grade students in North Dakota. 44 of them have a North Dakota-specific citation; the other 704 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 7th grade reading in North Dakota?
Lexile measures across the 7th grade North Dakota reading list range from 410L to 1300L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
North Dakota-specific entries reference ND ELA Standards (published at www.nd.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 7th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Newbery Medal and the Golden Kite Award. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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

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