Books like Escaping the Giant Wave

If you liked Escaping the Giant Wave, read Abduction, Stolen Children, or 11 Birthdays — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret? 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Escaping the Giant Wave

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Why each is a match

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Abductiongrades 3–6
Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Stolen Childrengrades 4–6
Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5
Both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Mr. Teruptgrades 3–5
Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Dukegrades 3–5
Both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6
Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Fudge-a-Maniagrades 3–6
Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8
Both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
New Kidgrades 4–8
Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Out of My Mind700L
Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Escaping the Giant Wave for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret · grades 4–6 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Nightmare Mountain by Peg Kehret · grades 3–6 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Terror at the Zoo by Peg Kehret · grades 3–6 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret · grades 3–8 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • The Stranger Next Door by Peg Kehret · grades 3–8 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like Escaping the Giant Wave for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret · grades 4–6 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Nightmare Mountain by Peg Kehret · grades 3–6 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Terror at the Zoo by Peg Kehret · grades 3–6 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret · grades 3–8 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • The Stranger Next Door by Peg Kehret · grades 3–8 — Is by Peg Kehret, the same author, both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like Escaping the Giant Wave for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Scythe by Neal Shusterman · grades 7–12 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
  • The Doom Stone by Paul Zindel · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s).
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · 810L — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • Legend by Marie Lu · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Escaping the Giant Wave?
The 10 closest matches to Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret on ReadingList include Abduction, Stolen Children, 11 Birthdays, Because of Mr. Terupt, and Duke. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Escaping the Giant Wave reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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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