Books like A First Time for Everything

If you liked A First Time for Everything, read The Aquanaut, Kareem Between, or King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat? 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to A First Time for Everything

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Why each is a match

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The Aquanautgrades 2–8
Is by Dan Santat, the same author, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Kareem Betweengrades 4–7
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold)grades 5–8
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
1919 The Year That Changed Americagrades 7–12
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
A Tale Dark and Grimmgrades 4–7
Both on the Charlotte Award list and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Winn-Dixie610L
Both on the Charlotte Award list and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Brown Girl Dreaming990L
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Claudette Colvingrades 6–10
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and overlapping grades (6–10). Amazon → books like this →
Fallen Angelsgrades 4–8
Both on the Charlotte Award list and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Goblin Secretsgrades 4–7
Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to A First Time for Everything?
The 10 closest matches to A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat on ReadingList include The Aquanaut, Kareem Between, King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold), 1919 The Year That Changed America, and A Tale Dark and Grimm. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like A First Time for Everything reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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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