What books are similar to A Dog Called Homeless?

The 10 closest matches to A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean on ReadingList include The War That Saved My Life, Wonderstruck, Things Not Seen, A Night Divided, and After Ever After. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like A Dog Called Homeless reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like A Dog Called Homeless

If you liked A Dog Called Homeless, read The War That Saved My Life, Wonderstruck, or Things Not Seen — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean? The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The War That Saved My Life580L: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Wonderstruckgrades 4–7: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Things Not Seengrades 6–8: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Night Dividedgrades 5–8: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
After Ever Aftergrades 5–8: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Anything But Typicalgrades 5–8: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
As Brave As Yougrades 4–7: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Becoming Naomi Leon (Scholastic Gold)grades 4–7: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Close to Famousgrades 4–7: Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Echo680L: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like A Dog Called Homeless for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt · 550L — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green · grades 4–7 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).

Books like A Dog Called Homeless for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein · grades 7–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and the same era (2010s).
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt · 550L — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John · grades 8–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).

Books like A Dog Called Homeless for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro · grades 9–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein · grades 7–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and the same era (2010s).
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John · grades 8–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Girls Like Us by Gail Giles · grades 9–12 — Both on the Schneider Family Book Award list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to A Dog Called Homeless?: The 10 closest matches to A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean on ReadingList include The War That Saved My Life, Wonderstruck, Things Not Seen, A Night Divided, and After Ever After. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like A Dog Called Homeless reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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