Virginia 5th grade reading list

Books with a Virginia citation for 5th grade include Bridge to Terabithia, Island of the Blue Dolphins and Matilda. This list has 898 total books, 45 of them with a Virginia-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top Virginia 5th grade pick: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson — on 3 Virginia lists

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Total books898Lexile390L–1020LSourceVirginia 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 5th 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. Bridge to Terabithia

    Katherine Paterson

    Cited in 3 Virginia curriculum documents and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers friendship, imagination, grief and loss. At 810L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. Island of the Blue Dolphins

    Scott O'Dell

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers survival, solitude and indigenous identity. At 1000L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  3. Matilda

    Roald Dahl

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers intelligence, overcoming neglect and teacher-student bond. At 840L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  4. 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 sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  5. Bea and the New Deal Horse

    L. M. Elliott

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

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  6. 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 sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  7. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  8. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

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

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  9. Ten Kids, No Pets

    Ann M. Martin

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

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  10. 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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  11. Wait Till Helen Comes

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  12. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

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

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  13. 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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  14. 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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  15. 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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  16. 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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  17. 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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  18. 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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  19. 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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  20. 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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  21. 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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  22. 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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  23. 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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  24. Front Desk

    Kelly Yang

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers immigration, family and race. At 640L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  25. Ghost Cadet

    Elaine Marie Alphin

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers campaigns, ghosts and grandmothers.

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  26. Hoops

    Matt Tavares

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

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  27. John, Paul, George and Ben

    Lane Smith

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

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  28. Last Holiday Concert

    Andrew Clements

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

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  29. My Friend the Vampire

    Angela Sommer-Bodenburg

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers friendship, vampires and friendship, fiction.

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  30. Say What?

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers terms and phrases, conduct of life, human behavior.

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45 books cited for Virginia 5th grade

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

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853 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 898-book total above includes 45 titles with direct Virginia citation; these 853 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Virginia-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 853 titles

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Other Virginia 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 Virginia 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Virginia Standards of Learning 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 898 titles for 5th grade in Virginia, of which 45 carry a direct Virginia citation and 853 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.

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 5th 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 5th 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 5th grade students read in Virginia?
Books with a Virginia-specific citation for 5th grade include Bridge to Terabithia, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Matilda, The One and Only Ivan and Bea and the New Deal Horse. 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 Virginia?
This list has 898 books for 5th grade students in Virginia. 45 of them have a Virginia-specific citation; the other 853 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in Virginia?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade Virginia 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?
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 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 www.doe.virginia.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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