2-Blue (BB) Varsity
Grade Level Equivalency: End of 1st Grade
Double-Blue books contain basic sight vocabulary, twosyllable words using basic vowel patterns, initial and final consonant blends and digraphs, compound words, and simple suffixes. Representative title: Abraham Lincoln. Books are selected to be appropriate for middle and high school students reading independently at the end of first grade reading level.

1-Red (R) Varsity
Grade Level Equivalency: Mid-2nd Grade
Red books contain regular three-syllable words familiar to students from their everyday speech. Words can be figured out using basic vowel patterns, syllable chunking, and threeletter blends. Stories may involve plots, characterization, setting, and themes. Representative title: Super Storms. Books are selected to be appropriate for middle and high school students reading independently at the beginning of second grade reading level.

2-Red (RR) Varsity
Grade Level Equivalency: End of 2nd Grade
Double-Red books contain regular and irregular three- and four-syllable words that are familiar to the students from their everyday speech. Representative title: Go Free or Die. Books are selected to be appropriate for middle and high school students reading independently at the end of second grade reading level.

White (Wt) Varsity
Grade Level Equivalency: 3rd Grade
White books contain approximately 1-3 out of 100 words that are not familiar to readers from their speech. Background knowledge common to third graders is assumed (e.g. basic geographical features, familiarity with traditional tale frameworks, fiction and nonfiction structures). Representative title: The Titanic (DK Readers). Books are selected to be appropriate for middle and high school students reading independently at the third grade reading level.

Black (Bl) Varsity
Grade Level Equivalency: 4th Grade
Black books assume students have acquired a literary vocabulary of approximately 1,500 words not contained in their normal speech. Background knowledge common to fourth graders is assumed (e.g. states, regions of the US, familiarity with biography as a genre). Representative title: Babysitter’s Club. Books are selected to be appropriate for middle and high school students reading independently at the fourth grade reading level.

Orange (Or) Varsity
Grade Level Equivalency: 5th Grade
Orange books assume students have acquired a literary vocabulary of approximately 3,000 words not contained in their normal speech. Background knowledge common to fifth graders is assumed (e.g. historical past, regions of the world, familiarity with historical fiction as a genre.) Representative title: Jump Ship to Freedom. Books are selected to be appropriate for middle and high school students reading independently at the fifth grade reading level.

Purple (Pu) Varsity
Grade Level Equivalency: 6th Grade
Purple books assume students have acquired a literary vocabulary of approximately 4,500 words not contained in their normal speech. Background knowledge common to sixth graders is assumed, (e.g. American government, basic knowledge of most familiar countries of the world, familiarity with science fiction as a genre). Representative title: The Giver. Books are selected to be appropriate for middle and high school students reading independently at the sixth grade reading level.

Brown (Br) Varsity
Grade Level Equivalency: 7th-8th Grades
Bronze books assume students have acquired a literary vocabulary of approximately 6,000 words not used in their everyday speech. Background knowledge common to seventh and eighth graders is assumed, (e.g. knowledge of ancient worlds, myths, legends, different forms of governments). Representative title: River Rats. Books are selected to be appropriate for middle and high school students reading independently at the seventh and eighth grade level.

Silver (Si) Varsity
Grade Level Equivalency: 9th-10th Grades
Silver books assume students have acquired a literary vocabulary of approximately 7,500 words not used in their everyday speech. Background knowledge common to ninth and tenth graders is assumed, (e.g. political issues and social issues, government paradigms). Representative title: Miss Jane Pittman. Books are selected to be appropriate for middle and high school students reading independently at the ninth and tenth grade level. (This basket level contains 25 books.)