What books are similar to I'm Trying to Love Spiders?

The 10 closest matches to I'm Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton on ReadingList include Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln, A Friend for Lakota: The Incredible True Story of a Wolf Who Braved Bullying, Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library!, Good Dog, and A Lion is a Lion. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades K–2), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like I'm Trying to Love Spiders reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades K–2), 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 I'm Trying to Love Spiders

If you liked I'm Trying to Love Spiders, read Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln first — the closest match in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like I'm Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton (Nonfiction · grades K–2)? 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–2 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincolngrades K–2: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon → books like this →
A Friend for Lakota: The Incredible True Story of a Wolf Who Braved Bullyinggrades K–3: Same genre (Nonfiction), overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library!grades K–3: Same genre (Nonfiction), overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Good Doggrades K–3: Same genre (Nonfiction), overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Lion is a Liongrades K–0: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, overlapping grades (K–0), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Chalkgrades K–2: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, overlapping grades (K–2), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Cookiesaurus Rexgrades K–0: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, overlapping grades (K–0), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Dog Man390L: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, overlapping grades (2–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Dogkugrades K–2: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, overlapping grades (K–2), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Escargotgrades K–2: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, overlapping grades (K–2), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like I'm Trying to Love Spiders for younger readers (K–2)

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

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry · grades K–0 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, overlapping grades (K–0), and the same era (2010s).
Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp · grades K–2 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, overlapping grades (K–2), and the same era (2010s).
Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins · grades K–0 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, overlapping grades (K–0), and the same era (2010s).
Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Deloris Jordan · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and overlapping grades (K–3).
The Magic School Bus: At the Waterworks by Joanna Cole · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like I'm Trying to Love Spiders for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Susan Jeffers · grades 4–8 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list and same genre (Nonfiction).
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder · grades 4–8 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list and same genre (Nonfiction).
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness by Donn Fendler · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Brian Dennis · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).

Books like I'm Trying to Love Spiders for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Susan Jeffers · grades 4–8 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list and same genre (Nonfiction).
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder · grades 4–8 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list and same genre (Nonfiction).
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness by Donn Fendler · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Brian Dennis · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).

Books like I'm Trying to Love Spiders for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Bonnie and Clyde: The Making of a Legend by Karen Blumenthal · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and the same era (2010s).
The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list and the same era (2010s).
Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list and the same era (2010s).
Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to I'm Trying to Love Spiders?: The 10 closest matches to I'm Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton on ReadingList include Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln, A Friend for Lakota: The Incredible True Story of a Wolf Who Braved Bullying, Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library!, Good Dog, and A Lion is a Lion. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades K–2), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like I'm Trying to Love Spiders reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades K–2), 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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