Virginia 6th grade reading list

Books with a Virginia citation for 6th grade include Maniac Magee, The Westing Game and The Giver. This list has 750 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 410L to 1120L.

Top Virginia 6th grade pick: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli — on 1 Virginia list

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Total books750Lexile410L–1120LSourceVirginia Standards of Learning✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Middle (6–8) titles appearing in the most states are The Giver (20 states), The Hunger Games (14 states), and Ground Zero (8 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Our pick to start — most-cited for Virginia 6th 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. Maniac Magee

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, homelessness and family. At 820L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  2. The Westing Game

    Ellen Raskin

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 5 to 7. Covers mystery, identity and teamwork. At 750L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  3. The Giver

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers conformity vs individuality, memory, utopia and dystopia. At 760L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers Greek mythology, neurodivergence (dyslexia, ADHD) and friendship. At 740L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  5. Walk Two Moons

    Sharon Creech

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 5 to 7. Covers grief, family and identity. At 770L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  6. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  7. Echo

    Pam Muñoz Ryan

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers music, family and war. At 680L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  8. Eragon

    Christopher Paolini

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers dragons, destiny and courage.

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  9. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers running, family violence and mentorship. At 730L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  10. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, resilience and self-reliance. At 1020L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  11. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, inclusion and intelligence. At 700L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

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  12. Savvy

    Ingrid Law

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 12.

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  13. The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn

    Sally J. Pla

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

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  14. A Family Apart

    Joan Lowery Nixon

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers family, fiction, family, juvenile literature and foster home care.

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  15. Airborn

    Kenneth Oppel

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers animals, pirates and science fiction.

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  16. Blackwater

    Eve Bunting

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers drowning, death and guilt.

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  17. Breakout

    Kate Messner

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers time capsules, community life and prisons.

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  18. Breathe: A Ghost Story

    Cliff McNish

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  19. City Spies

    James Ponti

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

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  20. Crash

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers conduct of life, family life and friendship.

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  21. Dead Man in Indian Creek

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers mystery and detective stories, detective and mystery stories.

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  22. Flight #116 Is Down!

    Caroline B. Cooney

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers aeronautics, fiction, airplanes, juvenile literature and airplanes, fiction.

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  23. Flipped

    Wendelin Van Draanen

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 8. Covers conduct of life in fiction, conduct of life and self-perception.

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  24. Ghost in My Soup

    Judi Miller

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  25. Global

    Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers courage, nature and perseverance.

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  26. Good Night, Mr. Tom

    Michelle Magorian

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers child abuse, historical fiction and world war, 1939-1945.

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  27. Ground Zero

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8.

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  28. Invisible

    Christina Diaz Gonzalez

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

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  29. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

    Jack Gantos

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 8. Covers schools and single-parent families.

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  30. Loser

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers families, family and elementary schools.

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45 books cited for Virginia 6th grade

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

Show all 45 titles

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705 additional grade-appropriate books for 6th grade readers

The 750-book total above includes 45 titles with direct Virginia citation; these 705 additional titles cover 6th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Virginia-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 705 titles

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Other Virginia grades

5th grade · 7th grade · 4th grade · 8th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

5th grade · 7th grade · 4th grade · 8th grade

Same 6th grade in other states

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

Browse 6th grade reading by theme

About the Virginia 6th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Virginia Standards of Learning with books from national sources that list titles for 6th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Newbery Medal. ReadingList currently tracks 750 titles for 6th grade in Virginia, of which 45 carry a direct Virginia citation and 705 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 6th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1120L.

6th grade sits in the 6-8 grade band, where students are middle-grade readers. At this stage the emphasis is on analyzing theme, character, and author's craft across full-length novels and their first classics. Assigned reading skews toward full-length novels, plays, memoir, and frequently-challenged contemporary titles, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 700L to 1010L. Measured against that 925–1185L range, of the 57 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 49 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 0 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 6th 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 6th 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 6th 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 6th grade students read in Virginia?
Books with a Virginia-specific citation for 6th grade include Maniac Magee; The Westing Game; The Giver; The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) and Walk Two Moons. 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 6th grade students in Virginia?
This list has 750 books for 6th grade students in Virginia. 45 of them have a Virginia-specific citation; the other 705 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 6th grade reading in Virginia?
Lexile measures across the 6th grade Virginia reading list range from 410L to 1120L. 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 6th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Newbery 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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