Books like Life on Mars

If you liked Life on Mars, read 11 Birthdays, A Million Ways Home, or America is Under Attack September 11 2001 — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Life on Mars by Jennifer Brown? 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 Life on Mars

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Why each is a match

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11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Million Ways Homegrades 4–6
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
America is Under Attack September 11 2001grades 3–5
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Fish in a Tree550L
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost730L
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost Boys360L
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Guinea Doggrades 3–5
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactusgrades 3–5
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Malcolm at Midnightgrades 3–5
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Life on Mars for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
  • Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).
  • Small Spaces by Katherine Arden · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
  • The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
  • The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart · grades 5–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Life on Mars for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Buddy by M. H. Herlong · grades 6–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
  • Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret · grades 6–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
  • Hidden by Helen Frost · grades 6–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
  • Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
  • Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Life on Mars?
The 10 closest matches to Life on Mars by Jennifer Brown on ReadingList include 11 Birthdays, A Million Ways Home, America is Under Attack September 11 2001, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, and Fish in a Tree. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 Life on Mars 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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