What books are similar to The City Under the Back Steps?

The 10 closest matches to The City Under the Back Steps by Evelyn Sibley Lampman on ReadingList include Bridge to Terabithia, Charlotte's Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, 11 Birthdays, and A Bundle of Sticks. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The City Under the Back Steps reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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.

Books like The City Under the Back Steps

If you liked The City Under the Back Steps, read Bridge to Terabithia, Charlotte's Web, or Where the Red Fern Grows — the closest matches in our database, matched on reading level.

Looking for books like The City Under the Back Steps by Evelyn Sibley Lampman (Children's Fiction · grades 4–8)? 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Bridge to Terabithia810L: Same genre (Children's Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Charlotte's Web680L: Same genre (Children's Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Where the Red Fern Grows700L: Same genre (Children's Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
A Bundle of Sticksgrades 4–6: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
A Smart Kid Like Yougrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Winn-Dixie610L: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Bones on Black Spruce Mountaingrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Bud, Not Buddy950L: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Bunniculagrades 3–6: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to The City Under the Back Steps?: The 10 closest matches to The City Under the Back Steps by Evelyn Sibley Lampman on ReadingList include Bridge to Terabithia, Charlotte's Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, 11 Birthdays, and A Bundle of Sticks. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The City Under the Back Steps reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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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Books like The City Under the Back Steps

10 books similar to The City Under the Back Steps

Why each is a match

Common questions

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