Books like Jaguar

If you liked Jaguar, read The Grand Escape, Cryptid Hunters, or Flight #116 Is Down! — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Jaguar by Roland Smith (Adventure · grades 3–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of rain forests, jaguar, and adventure and adventurers. 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 3–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Jaguar

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Why each is a match

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The Grand Escapegrades 3–5
Shares themes of adventure and adventurers, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and same genre (Adventure). Amazon → books like this →
Cryptid Huntersgrades 5–8
Is by Roland Smith, the same author, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Flight #116 Is Down!grades 3–8
Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Lootgrades 3–8
Shares themes of adventure and adventurers, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Rescue Josh McGuiregrades 3–5
Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
The End of the Beginninggrades 4–8
Shares themes of adventure and adventurers, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Zach's Liegrades 3–8
Is by Roland Smith, the same author, overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
Zoobreakgrades 4–6
Shares themes of adventure and adventurers, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Two Degreesgrades 5–8
Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Crashgrades 3–8
Same genre (Adventure), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Jaguar for younger readers (K–2)

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

  • Smoky Night by Eve Bunting · grades 1–4 — Same genre (Adventure), overlapping grades (1–4), and the same era (1990s).
  • Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of adventure and adventurers and overlapping grades (2–8).
  • Bubba the Cowboy Prince by Helen Ketteman · grades K–3 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (1990s).
  • Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton · 530L — Same genre (Adventure) and overlapping grades (2–5).
  • John Henry by Julius Lester · grades K–5 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (1990s).

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

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

  • Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Adventure), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (1990s).
  • Smoky Night by Eve Bunting · grades 1–4 — Same genre (Adventure), overlapping grades (1–4), and the same era (1990s).
  • The River by Gary Paulsen · grades 5–8 — Same genre (Adventure), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (1990s).
  • A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Adventure) and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Adventure) and overlapping grades (4–6).

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

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

  • Freak the Mighty by W. R. Philbrick · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list and same genre (Adventure).
  • Run, Hide, Fight Back by April Henry · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list and same genre (Adventure).
  • Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Adventure), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (1990s).
  • The River by Gary Paulsen · grades 5–8 — Same genre (Adventure), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (1990s).
  • A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Adventure) and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like Jaguar for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Freak the Mighty by W. R. Philbrick · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list and same genre (Adventure).
  • Run, Hide, Fight Back by April Henry · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list and same genre (Adventure).
  • Danger Zone by David Klass · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list and the same era (1990s).
  • Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 6–9 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list and the same era (1990s).
  • The Call of the Wild by Jack London · 1120L — Same genre (Adventure).

Common questions

What books are similar to Jaguar?
The 10 closest matches to Jaguar by Roland Smith on ReadingList include The Grand Escape, Cryptid Hunters, Flight #116 Is Down!, Loot, and Rescue Josh McGuire. Each is scored on shared themes (rain forests, jaguar, and adventure and adventurers), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Jaguar reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–5), 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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