Books like Charley Skedaddle

If you liked Charley Skedaddle, read Sarah, Plain and Tall, Streams to the River, River to the Sea, or The Sign of the Beaver — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Charley Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty? 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Charley Skedaddle

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Why each is a match

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Sarah, Plain and Tall660L
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
Streams to the River, River to the Seagrades 6–9
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
The Sign of the Beavergrades 4–7
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
A Sea of Lemon Treesgrades 5–8
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
African Towngrades 7–12
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
All He Knewgrades 5–8
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Bea and the New Deal Horsegrades 3–5
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Beyond the Bright Seagrades 5–8
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Bo at Ballard Creekgrades 3–6
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Bull Rungrades 5–8
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to Charley Skedaddle?
The 10 closest matches to Charley Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty on ReadingList include Sarah, Plain and Tall, Streams to the River, River to the Sea, The Sign of the Beaver, A Sea of Lemon Trees, and African Town. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Charley Skedaddle reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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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