Texas 5th grade reading list

Books with a Texas citation for 5th grade include Hatchet, Where the Red Fern Grows and Holes. This list has 918 total books, 64 of them with a Texas-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top Texas 5th grade pick: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen — on 2 Texas lists

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Total books918Lexile390L–1020LSourceTEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills)✓ 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 Texas 5th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Texas’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. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 2 Texas curriculum documents 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.

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  2. Where the Red Fern Grows

    Wilson Rawls

    Cited in 2 Texas curriculum documents and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers boy-and-dog bond, rural self-reliance and perseverance. At 700L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  3. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Texas 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.

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  4. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Texas 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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  5. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Texas 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. Ramona and Her Father

    Beverly Cleary

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

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  7. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Texas 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.

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  8. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

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

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  9. The Dollhouse Murders

    Betty Ren Wright

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

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

    Louis Sachar

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

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  11. Wait Till Helen Comes

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers ghosts, family and jealousy.

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  12. A Dog Called Kitty

    Wallace, Bill

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

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  13. A Game of Noctis

    Deva Fagan

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

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  14. A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen

    Erin Frankel

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers compassion, biography and service.

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  15. Aliens for Breakfast

    Jonathan Etra

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers science fiction, life on other planets and extraterrestrial beings.

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  16. Christina's Ghost

    Betty Ren Wright

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers children: grades 4-6, mystery and detective stories, ghosts, fiction.

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  17. Cook-A-Doodle-Doo!

    Janet Stevens

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers roosters, baking and cake.

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  18. Dogtown

    Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko

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

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  19. Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight

    Rey Terciero

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers identity, courage and family.

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  20. El Chupacabras

    Adam Rubin

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers chupacabras, farm life and goats.

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  21. Ernö Rubik and His Magic Cube

    Kerry Aradhya

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers curiosity, invention and biography.

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  22. Ghost Fever/Mal de Fantasma

    Joe Hayes

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

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  23. Haiku, Ew! Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature

    Lynn Brunelle

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers nature, poetry and science.

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  24. Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective

    Janet Tashjian

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers mystery, humor and school.

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  25. Help Me, Mr. Mutt!

    Susan Stevens Crummel

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers advice columns.

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  26. If I Built a School

    Chris Van Dusen

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

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  27. Invisible Isabel

    Sally J. Pla

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers empathy, identity and family.

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  28. It Came from the Trees

    Ally Russell

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, courage and fear.

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  29. Legendarios: Wrath of the Rain God

    Karla Arenas Valenti

    Cited in 1 Texas curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers mythology, family and adventure.

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  30. Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All

    Chanel Miller

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

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64 books cited for Texas 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to Texas’s TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) with a Texas-specific citation.

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854 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 918-book total above includes 64 titles with direct Texas citation; these 854 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Texas-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 854 titles

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Other Texas 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 · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois · Ohio

Browse 5th grade reading by theme

About the Texas 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) 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 918 titles for 5th grade in Texas, of which 64 carry a direct Texas citation and 854 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 58 titles here with a Lexile score 33 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.

Texas’s English Language Arts requirements are set by TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) (tea.texas.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 5th grade list below blends Texas-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 Texas-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 Texas?
Books with a Texas-specific citation for 5th grade include Hatchet, Where the Red Fern Grows, Holes, Shiloh 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 Texas?
This list has 918 books for 5th grade students in Texas. 64 of them have a Texas-specific citation; the other 854 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Texas?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Texas 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?
Texas-specific entries reference TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) (published at tea.texas.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 tea.texas.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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