Oklahoma 5th grade reading list

Books with an Oklahoma citation for 5th grade include Holes, The Tale of Despereaux and Shiloh. This list has 895 total books, 49 of them with an Oklahoma-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top Oklahoma 5th grade pick: Holes by Louis Sachar — on 1 Oklahoma 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 books895Lexile390L–1020LSourceOklahoma Academic 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 Oklahoma 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Oklahoma’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 Oklahoma 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

  2. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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

  3. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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

  4. The Crossover

    Kwame Alexander

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, brotherhood and basketball. At 750L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  5. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers Greek mythology, neurodivergence (dyslexia, ADHD) and friendship. At 740L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  6. The One and Only Ivan

    Katherine Applegate

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers animal welfare, captivity and freedom, friendship across species. At 570L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  7. The War That Saved My Life

    Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers war, resilience and disability. At 580L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  8. Walk Two Moons

    Sharon Creech

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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.

    Get it on Amazon

  9. A Wrinkle in Time

    Madeleine L'Engle

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 7. Covers good vs evil, scientific imagination and individuality. At 740L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  10. After Ever After

    Jordan Sonnenblick

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8.

    Get it on Amazon

  11. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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

  12. Dear Mr. Henshaw

    Beverly Cleary

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers family, identity and growing up.

    Get it on Amazon

  13. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, resilience and self-reliance. At 1020L it runs above the 740–1010L band — a stretch text.

    Get it on Amazon

  14. Old Yeller

    Fred Gipson

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

    Get it on Amazon

  15. Rascal

    Sterling North

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

    Get it on Amazon

  16. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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

  17. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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

  18. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma 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

  19. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers refugees, family and hope.

    Get it on Amazon

  20. A Game of Noctis

    Deva Fagan

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers adventure, ambition and fantasy.

    Get it on Amazon

  21. A Royal Conundrum

    Lisa Yee

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, humor and adventure.

    Get it on Amazon

  22. A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

    Jasmine Warga

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers mystery, friendship and art.

    Get it on Amazon

  23. All the Lovely Bad Ones

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers ghosts, family and mystery.

    Get it on Amazon

  24. Allies

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers war, courage and sacrifice.

    Get it on Amazon

  25. Beanie the Bansheenie

    Eoin Colfer

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers fantasy, humor and identity.

    Get it on Amazon

  26. Bunnicula

    Deborah Howe

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

    Get it on Amazon

  27. Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos

    Nathalie Alonso

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers biography, baseball and perseverance.

    Get it on Amazon

  28. Countdown to Yesterday

    Shirley Marr

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, change and family.

    Get it on Amazon

  29. Dog Trouble: A Graphic Novel

    Kristin Varner

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers pets, moving and responsibility.

    Get it on Amazon

  30. Dogtown

    Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko

    Cited in 1 Oklahoma curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, perseverance and humor.

    Get it on Amazon

49 books cited for Oklahoma 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to Oklahoma’s Oklahoma Academic Standards with a Oklahoma-specific citation.

Show all 49 titles

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

846 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 895-book total above includes 49 titles with direct Oklahoma citation; these 846 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have an Oklahoma-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 846 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Oklahoma Academic 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 895 titles for 5th grade in Oklahoma, of which 49 carry a direct Oklahoma citation and 846 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 33 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.

Oklahoma’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Oklahoma Academic Standards (sde.ok.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 5th grade list below blends Oklahoma-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 Oklahoma-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 Oklahoma?
Books with an Oklahoma-specific citation for 5th grade include Holes; The Tale of Despereaux; Shiloh; The Crossover and The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1). 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 Oklahoma?
This list has 895 books for 5th grade students in Oklahoma. 49 of them have an Oklahoma-specific citation; the other 846 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Oklahoma?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Oklahoma 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?
Oklahoma-specific entries reference Oklahoma Academic Standards (published at sde.ok.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 sde.ok.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

Find ReadingList in your Google results more often: