Books like A Gathering of Days

If you liked A Gathering of Days, read Bridge to Terabithia, Julie of the Wolves, or Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos (Children and death · grades 3–7)? 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 3–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to A Gathering of Days

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Why each is a match

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Bridge to Terabithia810L
Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →
Julie of the Wolvesgrades 3–7
Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH790L
Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry920L
Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →
The Grey Kinggrades 3–7
Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →
The Slave Dancergrades 3–7
Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →
The Summer of the Swans Novel Units Teacher Guidegrades 3–7
Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →
The Westing Game750L
Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (5–7), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →
A Single Shard920L
Both on the Newbery Medal list and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Visit to William Blake's Inngrades K–5
Both on the Newbery Medal list and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to A Gathering of Days?
The 10 closest matches to A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos on ReadingList include Bridge to Terabithia, Julie of the Wolves, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and The Grey King. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like A Gathering of Days reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–7), 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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