Virginia 3rd grade reading list

Books with a Virginia citation for 3rd grade include The One and Only Ivan, Because of Winn-Dixie and Bridge to Terabithia. This list has 604 total books, 79 of them with a Virginia-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 380L to 1000L.

Top Virginia 3rd grade pick: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate — on 1 Virginia list

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Total books604Lexile380L–1000LSourceVirginia Standards of Learning✓ 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 Virginia 3rd grade

These are the 30 titles named in Virginia’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. The One and Only Ivan

    Katherine Applegate

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers animal welfare, captivity and freedom, friendship across species. At 570L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  2. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers loss, friendship and mother absence. At 610L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  3. Bridge to Terabithia

    Katherine Paterson

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers friendship, imagination, grief and loss. At 810L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  4. Island of the Blue Dolphins

    Scott O'Dell

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers survival, solitude and indigenous identity. At 1000L it runs above the 420–820L band — a stretch text.

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  5. Matilda

    Roald Dahl

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers intelligence, overcoming neglect and teacher-student bond. At 840L it runs above the 420–820L band — a stretch text.

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  6. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

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

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  7. The Indian in the Cupboard

    Lynne Reid Banks

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, responsibility and imagination.

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  8. 7 X 9 = Trouble

    Claudia Mills

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers tables, brothers and schools.

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  9. A Haunting in Williamsburg

    Lou Kassem

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers ghost stories, ghosts, mystery and detective stories.

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  10. Again

    Emily Gravett

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

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  11. Akiak

    Robert J. Blake

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers iditarod (race), sled dog racing and sled dogs.

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  12. All the Lovely Bad Ones

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  13. Allergic

    Megan Wagner Lloyd

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers new york times reviewed and comic books, strips, etc..

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  14. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things

    Lenore Look

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers chinese americans.

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  15. Are You a Cheeseburger?

    Monica Arnaldo

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

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  16. Bea and the New Deal Horse

    L. M. Elliott

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers courage, family and perseverance.

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  17. Because of You, John Lewis

    Andrea Davis Pinkney

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers courage, history and identity.

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  18. Beware of Boys

    Tony Blundell

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers cooking, wolves and cookery.

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  19. Can I Be Your Dog?

    Troy Cummings

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers letters, dogs and dogs, fiction.

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  20. Chester

    Mélanie Watt

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers cats.

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  21. Christina's Ghost

    Betty Ren Wright

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

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  22. Copycat

    Ruth Brown

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers animal behavior, cats and behavior.

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  23. Dogzilla

    Dav Pilkey

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

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  24. Earthquake Terror

    Peg Kehret

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers earthquakes, survival, brothers and sisters.

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  25. Epossumondas

    Coleen Salley

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers folklore, fools and jesters, folklore, juvenile literature.

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  26. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  27. Exploring the Titanic

    Robert D. Ballard

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers shipwrecks, titanic (ship) and titanic (steamship).

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  28. Fig Pudding

    Ralph J. Fletcher

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers death, family and family life.

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  29. Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom

    Eric Wight

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

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  30. Front Desk

    Kelly Yang

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers immigration, family and race. At 640L it falls inside the 420–820L band for this grade.

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79 books cited for Virginia 3rd grade

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

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525 additional grade-appropriate books for 3rd grade readers

The 604-book total above includes 79 titles with direct Virginia citation; these 525 additional titles cover 3rd grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Virginia-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

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Other Virginia grades

2nd grade · 4th grade · 1st grade · 5th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

2nd grade · 4th grade · 1st grade · 5th grade

Same 3rd grade in other states

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

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About the Virginia 3rd grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Virginia Standards of Learning with books from national sources that list titles for 3rd grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Newbery Medal, the Golden Kite Award and the Caldecott Medal. ReadingList currently tracks 604 titles for 3rd grade in Virginia, of which 79 carry a direct Virginia citation and 525 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 3rd grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 380L–1000L.

3rd 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 420–820L range, of the 53 titles here with a Lexile score 37 are grade-level, 2 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 14 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 3rd grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Virginia’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Virginia Standards of Learning (doe.virginia.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 3rd grade list below blends Virginia-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 3rd grade unit can pair a Virginia-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 3rd grade students read in Virginia?
Books with a Virginia-specific citation for 3rd grade include The One and Only Ivan, Because of Winn-Dixie, Bridge to Terabithia, Island of the Blue Dolphins and Matilda. 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 3rd grade students in Virginia?
This list has 604 books for 3rd grade students in Virginia. 79 of them have a Virginia-specific citation; the other 525 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 3rd grade reading in Virginia?
Lexile measures across the 3rd grade Virginia reading list range from 380L to 1000L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Virginia-specific entries reference Virginia Standards of Learning (published at www.doe.virginia.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 3rd grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Newbery Medal, the Golden Kite Award and the Caldecott Medal. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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

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