What books are similar to Bea and the New Deal Horse?

The 10 closest matches to Bea and the New Deal Horse by L. M. Elliott on ReadingList include Hoops, Number the Stars, The Trumpet of the Swan, Sarah, Plain and Tall, and Amari and the Night Brothers. Each is scored on shared themes (courage, family, and perseverance), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Bea and the New Deal Horse reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–5), 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 Bea and the New Deal Horse

If you liked Bea and the New Deal Horse, read Hoops, Number the Stars, or The Trumpet of the Swan — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Bea and the New Deal Horse by L. M. Elliott (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade) · grades 3–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of courage, family, and perseverance. 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 3–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Hoopsgrades 3–5: Shares themes of courage and perseverance, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
Number the Stars670L: Shares themes of courage and family, same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
The Trumpet of the Swangrades 3–6: Shares themes of courage, family, and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Sarah, Plain and Tall660L: Shares themes of family, both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, and same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)). Amazon →
Amari and the Night Brothersgrades 4–7: Shares themes of courage and family and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Amir and the Jinn Princessgrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage and family and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Code Name Kingfishergrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage and family and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Curveballgrades 3–5: Shares themes of family and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
Dogtowngrades 3–6: Shares themes of courage and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knightgrades 3–6: Shares themes of courage and family and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →

Books like Bea and the New Deal Horse for younger readers (K–2)

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

Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater · grades K–2 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance and overlapping grades (K–3).
Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance and overlapping grades (K–3).
How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide by Ame Dyckman · grades K–2 — Shares themes of family and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of courage and family and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Bea and the New Deal Horse for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Growing Home by Beth Ferry · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of family and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–5).
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance and overlapping grades (K–3).
Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance and overlapping grades (K–3).
Operation Final Notice by Matthew Landis · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of family and perseverance and overlapping grades (4–8).
Punycorn by Andi Watson · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–5).

Books like Bea and the New Deal Horse for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Brick Dust and Bones by M.R. Fournet · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage, family, and perseverance.
The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of family and perseverance and same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)).
Global by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of family and perseverance and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
The Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria Tureaud · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage and family and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.

Books like Bea and the New Deal Horse for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of courage and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of family and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard by Ronald Wimberly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of courage and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson · 780L — Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, same genre (Historical Fiction (Middle Grade)), and overlapping grades (5–9).
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family.

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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