What books are similar to A Season of Gifts?

The 10 closest matches to A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck on ReadingList include A Year Down Yonder, The River Between Us, Arnie, the Doughnut, Closed for the Season, and Dear Mrs. LaRue. Each is scored on shared themes (neighbors, humorous stories, and nineteen fifties), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like A Season of Gifts reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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.

Books like A Season of Gifts

If you liked A Season of Gifts, read A Year Down Yonder, The River Between Us, or Arnie, the Doughnut — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Looking for books like A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck (Historical Fiction · grades 3–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of neighbors, humorous stories, and nineteen fifties. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, 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 3–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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A Year Down Yondergrades 3–7: Is by Richard Peck, the same author, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
The River Between Usgrades 7–12: Is by Richard Peck, the same author, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Arnie, the Doughnutgrades 2–8: Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Closed for the Seasongrades 3–8: Shares themes of neighbors and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Dear Mrs. LaRuegrades 3–5: Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Double Fudgegrades 4–6: Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Falling for Rapunzelgrades K–3: Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Fever 1793grades 2–8: Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Hostagegrades 3–8: Shares themes of neighbors and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Knocked Out by Nunga-Nungasgrades 3–5: Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like A Season of Gifts for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold · grades K–1 — Shares themes of humorous stories.
Let's Do Nothing by Tony Fucile · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (K–3).
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas · grades K–2 — Shares themes of humorous stories.
Skippyjon Jones by Judith Byron Schachner · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like A Season of Gifts for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Let's Do Nothing by Tony Fucile · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (K–3).
Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2000s).
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by O'Malley, Kevin · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–5).
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like A Season of Gifts for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2000s).
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–8).
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak · 730L — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (8–11), and the same era (2000s).
The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2000s).

Books like A Season of Gifts for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of humorous stories.
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín · grades 9–10 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak · 730L — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (8–11), and the same era (2000s).
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Historical Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to A Season of Gifts?: The 10 closest matches to A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck on ReadingList include A Year Down Yonder, The River Between Us, Arnie, the Doughnut, Closed for the Season, and Dear Mrs. LaRue. Each is scored on shared themes (neighbors, humorous stories, and nineteen fifties), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like A Season of Gifts reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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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