West Virginia 5th grade reading list

Books with a West Virginia citation for 5th grade include Maniac Magee, Matilda and Shiloh. This list has 867 total books, 9 of them with a West Virginia-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1020L.

Top West Virginia 5th grade pick: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli — on 1 West Virginia list

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Total books867Lexile390L–1020LSourceWV College & Career Ready 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 West Virginia 5th grade

These are the 9 titles named in West 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 West Virginia curriculum document and 4 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, homelessness and family. At 820L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. Matilda

    Roald Dahl

    Cited in 1 West 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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  3. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 West Virginia 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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  4. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 West 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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  5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 West Virginia curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers school, friendship and family. At 950L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  6. Ralph S. Mouse

    Beverly Cleary

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

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

    Louis Sachar

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

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  8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

    J.K. Rowling

    Cited in 1 West Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, courage and good vs evil. At 880L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  9. The Adventures of Captain Underpants

    Dav Pilkey

    Cited in 1 West Virginia curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers friendship, humor and imagination. At 720L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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9 books cited for West Virginia 5th grade

Assignments tied directly to West Virginia’s WV College & Career Ready Standards with a West Virginia-specific citation.

858 additional grade-appropriate books for 5th grade readers

The 867-book total above includes 9 titles with direct West Virginia citation; these 858 additional titles cover 5th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a West Virginia-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 858 titles

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Other West 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

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About the West Virginia 5th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in WV College & Career Ready 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 867 titles for 5th grade in West Virginia, of which 9 carry a direct West Virginia citation and 858 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 60 titles here with a Lexile score 34 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.

West Virginia’s English Language Arts requirements are set by WV College & Career Ready Standards (wvde.us). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 5th grade list below blends West 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 West 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 West Virginia?
Books with a West Virginia-specific citation for 5th grade include Maniac Magee, Matilda, Shiloh, Because of Winn-Dixie and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. 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 West Virginia?
This list has 867 books for 5th grade students in West Virginia. 9 of them have a West Virginia-specific citation; the other 858 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 5th grade reading in West Virginia?
Lexile measures across the 5th grade West 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?
West Virginia-specific entries reference WV College & Career Ready Standards (published at wvde.us). 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 wvde.us. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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