What books are similar to Don't Think of Tigers?

The 10 closest matches to Don't Think of Tigers by Alex Latimer on ReadingList include How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Ursula Upside Down, Buffalo Fluffalo, and Butt or Face?. Each is scored on shared themes (imagination, humor, and bedtime), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades K–3), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Don't Think of Tigers reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades K–3), 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 Think of Tigers

If you liked Don't Think of Tigers, read How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, or Ursula Upside Down — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Don't Think of Tigers by Alex Latimer (Picture Book · grades K–3)? It’s most often read for its themes of imagination, humor, and bedtime. 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 K–3 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guidegrades K–2: Shares themes of imagination and humor, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie410L: Shares themes of imagination and humor, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Ursula Upside Downgrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon →
Buffalo Fluffalogrades K–2: Shares themes of humor, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →
Butt or Face?grades K–2: Shares themes of humor, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →
I Lived Inside a Whalegrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Millie Fleur's Poison Gardengrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
No Cats in the Librarygrades K–2: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →
Time to Make Artgrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Corduroy600L: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →

Books like Don't Think of Tigers for younger readers (K–2)

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

Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Gibberish by Young Vo · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of imagination and humor and overlapping grades (2–5).
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of imagination and humor and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Don't Think of Tigers for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Gibberish by Young Vo · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of imagination and humor and overlapping grades (2–5).
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of imagination and humor and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Don't Think of Tigers for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of imagination, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen by Erin Frankel · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Picture Book), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2020s).
A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor and overlapping grades (3–6).
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of humor.
Confessions of a Class Clown by Arianne Costner · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of humor.

Books like Don't Think of Tigers for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and the same era (2020s).
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and the same era (2020s).
Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta · grades 9–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and the same era (2020s).
The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow · grades 9–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and the same era (2020s).
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of humor.

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

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