What books are similar to Fourth Grade Rats?

The 10 closest matches to Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli on ReadingList include Eight Keys, Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You, Dogtown, The Girl Who Could Fly, and Trading Places with Tank Talbott. Each is scored on shared themes (conduct of life, schools, and friendship), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Fourth Grade Rats reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–6), 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.

Books like Fourth Grade Rats

If you liked Fourth Grade Rats, read Eight Keys, Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You, or Dogtown — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of conduct of life, schools, and friendship. 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 4–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Eight Keysgrades 4–6: Shares themes of schools and friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Sixth Grade Can Really Kill Yougrades 3–8: Shares themes of schools and school stories, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
Dogtowngrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
The Girl Who Could Flygrades 4–6: Shares themes of schools, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Trading Places with Tank Talbottgrades 4–6: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Ungiftedgrades 5–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Wild Wingsgrades 4–6: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Crashgrades 3–8: Shares themes of conduct of life and friendship and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
Flying Sologrades 4–6: Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Math Cursegrades 4–8: Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →

Books like Fourth Grade Rats for younger readers (K–2)

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

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of conduct of life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Real Friends by Shannon Hale · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of schools and friendship and overlapping grades (2–8).
Say What? by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of conduct of life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (1990s).

Books like Fourth Grade Rats for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech · 770L — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–7).
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
101 Ways to Bug Your Parents by Lee Wardlaw · grades 4–6 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
A Boy Named Queen by Sara Cassidy · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like Fourth Grade Rats for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech · 770L — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–7).
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
101 Ways to Bug Your Parents by Lee Wardlaw · grades 4–6 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
A Boy Named Queen by Sara Cassidy · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like Fourth Grade Rats for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Posted by John David Anderson · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of friendship and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky · 720L — Shares themes of friendship.
Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (5–9).
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and overlapping grades (6–9).

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

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