Books like And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
If you liked And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon, read Cook-A-Doodle-Doo!, Mystery at the Club Sandwich, or Peter and the Starcatchers — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! by Janet Stevens — shares animals
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Looking for books like And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of characters in literature, nursery rhymes, and animals. 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 3–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
Cook-A-Doodle-Doo!Janet Stevens
Mystery at the Club SandwichDoug Cushman
Peter and the StarcatchersDave Barry
Harry Cat's Pet PuppyGeorge Selden
Summer of the MonkeysWilson Rawls
The Wishing SpellChris Colfer
A Boy Called BatElana K. Arnold
Tops and BottomsJanet Stevens
Humpty-Dumpty Egg-SplodesO'Malley, Kevin
Boxes for KatjeCandace Fleming
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Why each is a match
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- Cook-A-Doodle-Doo!grades 3–6
- Is by Janet Stevens, the same author, shares themes of animals, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
- Mystery at the Club Sandwichgrades 3–8
- Shares themes of animals, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Peter and the Starcatchersgrades 3–8
- Shares themes of characters in literature and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Harry Cat's Pet Puppygrades 4–8
- Shares themes of animals, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Summer of the Monkeysgrades 4–7
- Shares themes of animals, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
- The Wishing Spellgrades 3–8
- Shares themes of characters in literature and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
- A Boy Called Batgrades 3–5
- Shares themes of animals, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
- Tops and Bottomsgrades 2–3
- Is by Janet Stevens, the same author, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–3). Amazon → books like this →
- Humpty-Dumpty Egg-Splodesgrades K–3
- Shares themes of nursery rhymes, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
- Boxes for Katjegrades 3–8
- Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
More like this
Same grade band, chosen by theme and by how many reading lists carry them. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
RascalSterling NorthAlso about animals · on 4 reading lists
Grades 5–8 · 210 pages
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Narwhal: Unicorn of the ArcticCandace FlemingAlso about animals · on 2 reading lists
Grades 3–6 · 26 pages
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The Bad GuysAaron BlabeyAlso about animals · on 1 reading list
Grades 3–5 · 144 pages
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The Dark!: Wild Life in the Mysterious World of CavesLindsey LeighAlso about animals · on 1 reading list
Grades 3–7 · 100 pages
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DogtownKatherine Applegate & Gennifer CholdenkoAlso Realistic Fiction · on 6 reading lists
Grades 3–6
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FerrisKate DiCamilloAlso Realistic Fiction · on 5 reading lists
Grades 3–6
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No TalkingAndrew ClementsAlso Realistic Fiction · on 5 reading lists
Grades 3–8 · 160 pages
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The PinballsBetsy Cromer ByarsAlso Realistic Fiction · on 5 reading lists
Grades 4–6 · 137 pages
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Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous JobWillo Davis RobertsAlso Realistic Fiction · on 4 reading lists
Grades 3–8 · 161 pages
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Dear Mr. HenshawBeverly ClearyAlso Realistic Fiction · on 4 reading lists
Grades 4–6 · 142 pages
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UngiftedGordon KormanAlso Realistic Fiction · on 4 reading lists
Grades 5–8
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FudgeCharlotte Towner GraeberAlso Realistic Fiction · on 3 reading lists
Grades 4–6 · 123 pages
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Books like And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon for younger readers (K–2)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.
- Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman · grades K–1 — Shares themes of animals and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
- Don't Need Friends by Carolyn Crimi · grades K–2 — Shares themes of animals and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
- Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire · grades K–1 — Shares themes of animals and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
- Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold · grades K–1 — Shares themes of animals. Amazon →
Common questions
- What books are similar to And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon?
- The 10 closest matches to And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens on ReadingList include Cook-A-Doodle-Doo!, Mystery at the Club Sandwich, Peter and the Starcatchers, Harry Cat's Pet Puppy, and Summer of the Monkeys. Each is scored on shared themes (characters in literature, nursery rhymes, and animals), 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 And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon 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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