What books are similar to Airball: My Life in Briefs?

The 10 closest matches to Airball: My Life in Briefs by L.D. Harkrader on ReadingList include Ghost, Ghost Boys, Mick Harte Was Here, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, and Brighty of the Grand Canyon. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Airball: My Life in Briefs reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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 Airball: My Life in Briefs

If you liked Airball: My Life in Briefs, read Ghost, Ghost Boys, or Mick Harte Was Here — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Airball: My Life in Briefs by L.D. Harkrader (Realistic Fiction · grades 6–8)? 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 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Ghost730L: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost Boys360L: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrisegrades 5–8: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Brighty of the Grand Canyongrades 4–8: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Bristle Facegrades 4–8: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Daphne's Bookgrades 4–8: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Dovey Coegrades 6–8: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Flaming Arrowsgrades 4–8: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Harry Cat's Pet Puppygrades 4–8: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Airball: My Life in Briefs for younger readers (K–2)

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

Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj · grades K–3 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Chalk by Bill Thomson · grades K–2 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Chester by Mélanie Watt · grades K–3 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Cookiesaurus Rex by Amy Fellner Dominy · grades K–0 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).

Books like Airball: My Life in Briefs for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Henry Reed's Babysitting Service by Keith Robertson · grades 4–6 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Little Vic by Doris Gates · grades 4–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Sasha, My Friend by Barbara Corcoran · grades 4–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like Airball: My Life in Briefs for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Henry Reed's Babysitting Service by Keith Robertson · grades 4–6 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Little Vic by Doris Gates · grades 4–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Sasha, My Friend by Barbara Corcoran · grades 4–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like Airball: My Life in Briefs for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Barber Shop Chronicles by Inua Ellams · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s).
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Airball: My Life in Briefs?: The 10 closest matches to Airball: My Life in Briefs by L.D. Harkrader on ReadingList include Ghost, Ghost Boys, Mick Harte Was Here, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, and Brighty of the Grand Canyon. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Airball: My Life in Briefs reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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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