Skip to main content
Common Core ELA3rd GradeReading: Literature

RL.3.9: Compare Books in a Series

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.9 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

All 42 3rd Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series)

Common Core State Standards, Grade 3, Reading: Literature · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RL.3.9 Means in Plain English

Third graders compare two books by the same author about the same characters, like two books in a series. They look past the familiar faces and ask three things: where each story happens, what happens in it, and what lesson each book teaches.

In 2nd grade (RL.2.9) students compared versions of the same story by different authors or cultures, like Cinderella tales. Third grade keeps the author and characters fixed. In 4th grade (RL.4.9) students compare themes and patterns, like the quest, across cultures.

RL.3.9 I Can Statements

  • I can compare the settings of two books in a series.
  • I can compare what happens in two books in a series.
  • I can tell whether two books in a series share a theme.

RL.3.9 Worked Example

Two excerpts from an invented series about the same two friends. The comparison has to cover theme, setting and plot.

Read the Story
From Book 1, Juno and Bix and the Parade Llama: The llama on the petting-zoo float slipped its rope halfway down Main Street. Juno took off after it, yelling. Bix stayed put, grabbed a bunch of carrots from the snack cart, and held them out.The llama stopped, sniffed, and trotted straight back to Bix. Juno came back out of breath. “Okay,” she said. “Your way was faster.”From Book 3, Juno and Bix in the Corn Maze: The sun was going down, and every path looked the same. This time it was Bix who wanted to run. Juno grabbed his sleeve. “Wait. Listen.”Far off, the hayride tractor rumbled. They walked toward the sound, slow and steady, and stepped out of the maze just as the lights came on.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: How are these two books alike and different in theme, setting and plot?
Not Yet“Both books are about Juno and Bix, and they both have a happy ending.”Every book in a series has the same characters, so that isn’t a comparison. It skips the theme, the setting and the plot.
Meets the Standard“The theme is the same: stopping to think works better than rushing. The settings are different. Book 1 is a busy parade on Main Street, and Book 3 is a corn maze at sunset. The plots have the same shape, a problem where rushing would fail, but the friends switch jobs. In Book 1 Juno runs and Bix stays calm. In Book 3 ‘it was Bix who wanted to run,’ and Juno says ‘Wait. Listen.’ She learned from Book 1.”It covers all three: one shared theme, two different settings, and a plot pattern with a twist, quoting each book.
Question Stems to Use
Where and when does each book take place?What problem do the characters face in each book?What does each book teach? Is it the same lesson?What does a character do differently in the later book?Why might the author repeat a lesson across the series?

Common Mistakes with RL.3.9

Comparing the characters only

“Both books have Juno and Bix.”

Try this: Point out that a series always shares characters, then require one sentence each on theme, setting and plot.

Comparing props instead of plots

“One has a llama and one has corn.”

Try this: Ask what problem each book’s characters face and how they solve it, then compare those two answers instead of the props.

Listing only similarities

“They are both funny and they both have a problem.”

Try this: Use a chart with alike and different columns, and require at least two entries in the different column before discussing.

Where RL.3.9 Fits

Comes BeforeRL.2.9Compare two versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures.
AlongsideRI.3.9Compare the key points and details of two nonfiction texts on one topic.RL.3.2Find a story’s lesson and the details that teach it.
Comes NextRL.4.9Compare similar themes and patterns of events in stories and myths from different cultures.

Practice RL.3.9

Quick Check

  1. How does Bix get the llama back in Book 1?
  2. What is the setting of Book 3?
  3. Who wants to run in Book 3, and how is that different from Book 1?

RL.3.9: Other Names

RL.3.9CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.9

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.