What books are similar to In the Time of the Drums?

The 10 closest matches to In the Time of the Drums by Kim L. Siegelson on ReadingList include In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall, Soul Looks Back in Wonder, Tar Beach, The Creation, and The Middle Passage. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades K–3), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like In the Time of the Drums reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades K–3), 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 In the Time of the Drums

If you liked In the Time of the Drums, read In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall, Soul Looks Back in Wonder, or Tar Beach — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like In the Time of the Drums by Kim L. Siegelson (Slave insurrections · grades K–3)? 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–3 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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In Daddy's Arms I Am Tallgrades K–3: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list, overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
Soul Looks Back in Wondergrades K–3: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list, overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
Tar Beachgrades K–5: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
The Creationgrades K–3: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list, overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
The Middle Passagegrades K–5: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
The Origin of Life on Earthgrades K–3: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list, overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
An American Storygrades K–3: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pumgrades K–5: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Beautiful Blackbirdgrades K–5: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Biggrades K–5: Both on the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award list and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to In the Time of the Drums?: The 10 closest matches to In the Time of the Drums by Kim L. Siegelson on ReadingList include In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall, Soul Looks Back in Wonder, Tar Beach, The Creation, and The Middle Passage. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades K–3), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like In the Time of the Drums reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades K–3), 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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Books like In the Time of the Drums

10 books similar to In the Time of the Drums

Why each is a match

Common questions

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