How Long It Takes Kids to Read Popular Books

Reading with your kids is proven to build healthier relationships, improve basic reading skills and entrench them in imaginary experiences. Not to mention, it’s a great way to share in the enjoyment of your favorite childhood books. But when your child comes home with a reading assignment or grabs a new favorite book at the library, have you ever wondered how long it’ll take for them to finish?

Taking the average reading speed based on the grade level appropriate for each book, we calculated how long it would take kids to tackle more than 50 popular children’s books. From literary classics like The Velveteen Rabbit and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to 21st century favorites like Harry Potter, use this to help you figure out how long storytime needs to be.

Is your kid not yet in the fourth grade? Scroll to the bottom of this graphic to see the average words per minute for all elementary school grades based on academic fluency standards.

What about my seven year old?

Wondering where your child falls in this list? Follow the fluency standards for elementary grades 1 – 6 below and you can quickly calculate how long it’ll take your eager reader. This doesn’t account for reading comprehension, only speed, so remember to ask questions and encourage your child to enjoy what they’re reading.

Grade 1: 50 words per minute (wpm)
Grade 2: 70 wpm
Grade 3: 100 wpm
Grade 4: 130 wpm
Grade 5: 140 wpm
Grade 6: 160 wpm

After picking out the reading nook, get your kids excited about reading by gifting them their own personalized storybook.