What books are similar to Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie?

The 10 closest matches to Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick on ReadingList include Mick Harte Was Here, Shiloh, Echo, Front Desk, and The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. Each is scored on shared themes (family, illness, and music), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–9), 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 Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

If you liked Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie, read Mick Harte Was Here, Shiloh, or Echo — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick (Realistic Fiction · grades 6–9)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, illness, and music. 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 6–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Shiloh890L: Shares themes of family, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Echo680L: Shares themes of family and music, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →
Front Desk640L: Shares themes of family, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrisegrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
A Night Dividedgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →
Refugee800L: Shares themes of family, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon →
So B. Itgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Wonder790L: Shares themes of family, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Blended610L: Shares themes of family and music and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →

Books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family and both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list.
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of family.

Books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of family and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes · 360L — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of illness, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes · 360L — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of illness, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).

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

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