Monday, February 5, 2018

AR (Accelerated Reader) Books at 8.0+ Reading Level

Books closed book clip art free clipart images 



I went in search of books for my 6th grade daughter to read that are interesting and appropriate for her 
age, plus taking in to consideration she has had enough social studies to mostly understand the social 
contructs of a given time period. He most recent AR test put her at a 9.0-12.0 reading level. There goes
 all the Harry Potter books she loves (except one, which you will see below and she will be excited to 
know I requested from the library.) Do you know how hard it is to find books that are at that level that 
are appropriate for an 11 year old to read and doesn't require prior knowledge of historical events or 
social constructs in foreign lands? It is not easy. 

Sure I can find lots of non-fiction, but some of it starts to get really technical and, frankly, are of topics 
that would bore her. I am sure I will have to look again when my son gets to this level, as his interest 
in non-fiction topics is different than hers. When I was looking up books that are popular among teens 
and tweens the books were often in the 4.5-6.5 grade levels. Honestly, I saw several books we read for 
book club that are 6.5-7.5 levels. 

_______________________________________________________________________________

Fiction
Call of the Wild by Jack London (8.0)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (8.1)
The Tales of Beedle and Bard by J.K. Rowling (8.3)
1984 by George Orwell (8.4)
The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe (9.9)
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (9.9)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (10.0)
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss (9.7-10.0, different versions)
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (10.5)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (11.0)
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (11.3)
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe (11.4)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (12.4)



Non-Fiction
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (8.0)
Into the Wild by John Krakauer (8.1)
Lives of extraordinary women : rulers, rebels (and what the neighbors thought)  by Kathleen Krull (8.5)   
Getting Away with Murder by Chris Crowe (8.7)
Cubism by Shannon Robinson (10.1)
The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein (10.1)
Salt, Sugar Fat by Michael Moss (10.2)
Barack Obama by Sherri Devaney (10.3)
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (10.4)

_____________________________________________________________________________

On these lists I made, I have only read 3 of the books in the non-fiction category, 2 of which I own and will 
give her to read. Luckily, the library system has a bunch and the ones I included are ones I can find within 
our system. I didn't include any that were not available. I like to make up these lists so I can go back and 
reference them when she needs more books, or when my son reaches these levels. No sense re-doing 
all the research when I can just save it and share with my readers. I looked to see if anyone had a list out 
there list this and couldn't find one. Next year, I don't believe she has AR anymore, so she can read some 
of those 4.5-6.5 books that are popular (that were not appropriate for her at the age she was when she 
was at that level.)

No comments: