What books are similar to Don't Hurt Laurie?

The 10 closest matches to Don't Hurt Laurie by Willo Davis Roberts on ReadingList include Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job, Hostage, 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and Call Me Hope. Each is scored on shared themes (child abuse, child abuse, fiction, and parent and child, fiction), 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 Don't Hurt Laurie 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 Don't Hurt Laurie

If you liked Don't Hurt Laurie, read Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job, Hostage, or 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Don't Hurt Laurie by Willo Davis Roberts (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of child abuse, child abuse, fiction, and parent and child, fiction. 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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Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Jobgrades 3–8: Is by Willo Davis Roberts, the same author, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Hostagegrades 3–8: Is by Willo Davis Roberts, the same author, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
101 Ways to Bug Your Parentsgrades 4–6: Shares themes of parent and child, fiction, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaretgrades 4–6: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Call Me Hopegrades 3–5: Shares themes of child abuse, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphreygrades 6–9: Shares themes of child abuse, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Sharing Susangrades 2–8: Shares themes of parent and child, fiction, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Goof that Won the Pennantgrades 4–8: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The True Colors of Caitlynne Jacksongrades 6–9: Shares themes of child abuse, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
A Boy Called Batgrades 3–5: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Don't Hurt Laurie for younger readers (K–2)

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

Arrowhawk by Lola M. Schaefer · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like Don't Hurt Laurie for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Arrowhawk by Lola M. Schaefer · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Cliff-Hanger by Alane Ferguson · grades 4–6 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like Don't Hurt Laurie for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Twisted Summer by Willo Davis Roberts · grades 6–8 — Is by Willo Davis Roberts, the same author, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
Cardboard by Doug TenNapel · grades 6–8 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8).
Cliff-Hanger by Alane Ferguson · grades 4–6 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Fudge by Charlotte Towner Graeber · grades 4–6 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like Don't Hurt Laurie for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli · grades 6–9 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Compound by S. A. Bodeen · grades 6–9 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to Don't Hurt Laurie?: The 10 closest matches to Don't Hurt Laurie by Willo Davis Roberts on ReadingList include Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job, Hostage, 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and Call Me Hope. Each is scored on shared themes (child abuse, child abuse, fiction, and parent and child, fiction), 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 Don't Hurt Laurie 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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