Books like An American Plague

If you liked An American Plague, read The Boy's War, The Long Road to Gettysburg, or "Let's Get a Pup!", Said Kate — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like An American Plague by Jim Murphy (Children's · grades 4–10)? 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 4–10 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to An American Plague

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Why each is a match

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The Boy's Wargrades 4–10
Is by Jim Murphy, the same author, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
The Long Road to Gettysburggrades 4–10
Is by Jim Murphy, the same author, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
"Let's Get a Pup!", Said Kategrades K–5
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
And If the Moon Could Talkgrades K–5
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Big Mama Makes the Worldgrades K–5
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Cold Feetgrades K–5
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogungrades 4–10
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
FIREBOATgrades 4–10
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Henry Hikes to Fitchburggrades K–5
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Leon's Storygrades 4–10
Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →

Books like An American Plague for younger readers (K–2)

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

  • The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Nancy Willard · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • Anno's Alphabet by Mitsumasa Anno · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).

Books like An American Plague for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Lord of the Deep by Graham Salisbury · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
  • Marching For Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
  • Nation by Terry Pratchett · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
  • Some of the Kinder Planets by Tim Wynne-Jones · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
  • The Double Life of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

Books like An American Plague for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Lord of the Deep by Graham Salisbury · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
  • Marching For Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
  • Nation by Terry Pratchett · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
  • Some of the Kinder Planets by Tim Wynne-Jones · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
  • The Double Life of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

Books like An American Plague for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Lord of the Deep by Graham Salisbury · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
  • Marching For Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
  • Nation by Terry Pratchett · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
  • Some of the Kinder Planets by Tim Wynne-Jones · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
  • The Double Life of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

Common questions

What books are similar to An American Plague?
The 10 closest matches to An American Plague by Jim Murphy on ReadingList include The Boy's War, The Long Road to Gettysburg, "Let's Get a Pup!", Said Kate, And If the Moon Could Talk, and Big Mama Makes the World. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–10), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like An American Plague reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–10), 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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