Ohio 5th grade reading list

Books with an Ohio citation for 5th grade include Shiloh, Walk Two Moons and Wonder. This list has 870 total books, 13 of them with an Ohio-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top Ohio 5th grade pick: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor — on 1 Ohio list

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Total books870Lexile390L–1020LSourceOhio Learning 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 Ohio 5th grade

These are the 13 titles named in Ohio’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. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Ohio 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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  2. Walk Two Moons

    Sharon Creech

    Cited in 1 Ohio curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 7. Covers grief, family and identity. At 770L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  3. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Ohio 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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  4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 Ohio 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.

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  5. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  6. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

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

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

    Louis Sachar

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

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  8. Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger

    Louis Sachar

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

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  9. Found

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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  10. Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade

    Barthe DeClements

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

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  11. Pax

    Sara Pennypacker

    Cited in 1 Ohio curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, war and loyalty. At 760L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  12. Ramona Quimby, Age 8

    Beverly Cleary

    Cited in 1 Ohio curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers family, school and growing up. At 860L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  13. The Adventures of Captain Underpants

    Dav Pilkey

    Cited in 1 Ohio curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers friendship, humor and imagination. At 720L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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13 books cited for Ohio 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to Ohio’s Ohio Learning Standards with a Ohio-specific citation.

857 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 870-book total above includes 13 titles with direct Ohio citation; these 857 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have an Ohio-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 857 titles

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Other Ohio 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 Ohio 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Ohio Learning 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 870 titles for 5th grade in Ohio, of which 13 carry a direct Ohio citation and 857 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 61 titles here with a Lexile score 35 are grade-level, 25 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.

Ohio’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Ohio Learning Standards (education.ohio.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 5th grade list below blends Ohio-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 Ohio-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 Ohio?
Books with an Ohio-specific citation for 5th grade include Shiloh, Walk Two Moons, Wonder, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. 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 Ohio?
This list has 870 books for 5th grade students in Ohio. 13 of them have an Ohio-specific citation; the other 857 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Ohio?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Ohio 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?
Ohio-specific entries reference Ohio Learning Standards (published at education.ohio.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.

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

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