What books are similar to King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold)?

The 10 closest matches to King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) by Kacen Callender on ReadingList include The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, The Poet X, A First Time for Everything, A Scar like a River, and A Sitting in St. James. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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 King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold)

If you liked King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold), read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, The Poet X, or A First Time for Everything — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) by Kacen Callender? 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian600L: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (7–10). Amazon →
The Poet X800L: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon →
A First Time for Everythinggrades 4–8: Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
A Scar like a Rivergrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
A Sitting in St. Jamesgrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
A World Without Summergrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–10), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
Bubble Troublegrades K–5: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
Death in the Junglegrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–10), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
Everything We Never Hadgrades 7–12: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
From a Whisper to a Rallying Crygrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–10), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →

Books like King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) for younger readers (K–2)

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

I Know How to Draw an Owl by Hilary Horder Hippely · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).
Leaf Man Board Book by Lois Ehlert · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).
Navigating Night by Julie Leung · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).

Books like King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

I Know How to Draw an Owl by Hilary Horder Hippely · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).
Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi · grades 4–7 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2020s).
Kin by Carole Boston Weatherford · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2020s).
Leaf Man Board Book by Lois Ehlert · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).

Books like King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi · grades 4–7 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2020s).
Kin by Carole Boston Weatherford · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2020s).
No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2020s).
Photographic by Isabel Quintero · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–10), and the same era (2020s).
Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2020s).

Books like King and the Dragonflies (Scholastic Gold) for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir · grades 9–12 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2020s).
Kin by Carole Boston Weatherford · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2020s).
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo · grades 9–12 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2020s).
No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2020s).
Photographic by Isabel Quintero · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–10), and the same era (2020s).

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

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