Books like Fudge

If you liked Fudge, read When the Boys Ran the House, Ellie's Story, or Jelly Belly — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Fudge by Charlotte Towner Graeber (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of responsibility, dogs, and pets. 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.

10 books similar to Fudge

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Why each is a match

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When the Boys Ran the Housegrades 3–6
Shares themes of responsibility and boys, fiction, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Ellie's Storygrades 3–6
Shares themes of dogs, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Jelly Bellygrades 4–6
Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Ribsygrades 4–6
Shares themes of dogs and pets, both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Shiloh Seasongrades 3–6
Shares themes of dogs, both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
A Dog Called Kittygrades 3–5
Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaretgrades 4–6
Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Harry's Madgrades 3–6
Shares themes of boys, fiction, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8
Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Shiloh890L
Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Fudge for younger readers (K–2)

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

  • The Dog Who Had Kittens by Polly M. Robertus · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Bagdad Ate It by Phyllis Green · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raúl the Third III · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
  • A Boy, a Dog and a Frog by Mercer Mayer · grades K–1 — Shares themes of boys, fiction and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like Fudge for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • The Dog Who Had Kittens by Polly M. Robertus · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Bagdad Ate It by Phyllis Green · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raúl the Third III · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
  • Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job by Willo Davis Roberts · grades 3–8 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like Fudge for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raúl the Third III · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
  • Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job by Willo Davis Roberts · grades 3–8 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days by Stephen Manes · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of boys, fiction, both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Bristle Face by Zachary Ball · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary · grades 4–6 — Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like Fudge 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 and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • 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 Fudge?
The 10 closest matches to Fudge by Charlotte Towner Graeber on ReadingList include When the Boys Ran the House, Ellie's Story, Jelly Belly, Ribsy, and Shiloh Season. Each is scored on shared themes (responsibility, dogs, and pets), 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 Fudge 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.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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