Books like Balloons over Broadway

If you liked Balloons over Broadway, read A Green Place to be, Noah Webster and His Words, or Otis and Will Discover the Deep — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet? 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 1–4 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Balloons over Broadway

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Why each is a match

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A Green Place to begrades K–5
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Noah Webster and His Wordsgrades 4–10
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–10), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Otis and Will Discover the Deepgrades K–5
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Pie in the Skygrades 3–6
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Stella Díaz Has Something to Saygrades 3–8
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Clementinegrades 3–8
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Curlfriends: New in Town (a Graphic Novel)grades 3–8
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Great Stinkgrades K–5
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Ways to Make Sunshinegrades 3–7
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Balloons over Broadway for younger readers (K–2)

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

  • A Band of Angels by Deborah Hopkinson · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s).
  • A Dance Like Starlight by Kristy Dempsey · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s).
  • A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s).
  • Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems · grades K–2 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–2), and the same era (2010s).
  • Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Balloons over Broadway for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • The Wall by Peter Sís · grades 5–9 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
  • A Band of Angels by Deborah Hopkinson · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s).
  • A Dance Like Starlight by Kristy Dempsey · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s).
  • A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Gold) by Natalie Lloyd · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Balloons over Broadway for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • The Wall by Peter Sís · grades 5–9 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
  • The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh · grades 6–8 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
  • A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Gold) by Natalie Lloyd · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Abigail Adams by Natalie S. Bober · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (4–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Absolutely Positively Not by David LaRochelle · grades 3–8 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Balloons over Broadway for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • The Wall by Peter Sís · grades 5–9 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
  • A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Gold) by Natalie Lloyd · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Abigail Adams by Natalie S. Bober · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, overlapping grades (4–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Almost Astronauts by Tanya Lee Stone · grades 5–9 — Both on the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Balloons over Broadway?
The 10 closest matches to Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet on ReadingList include A Green Place to be, Noah Webster and His Words, Otis and Will Discover the Deep, Pie in the Sky, and Stella Díaz Has Something to Say. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 1–4), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Balloons over Broadway reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 1–4), 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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