What books are similar to Lulu's Mysterious Mission?

The 10 closest matches to Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst on ReadingList include My Explosive Diary, Say What?, Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job, Bad Kitty, and Class Clown. Each is scored on shared themes (babysitters, conduct of life, and behavior), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Lulu's Mysterious Mission reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–8), 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 Lulu's Mysterious Mission

If you liked Lulu's Mysterious Mission, read My Explosive Diary, Say What?, or Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst (Realistic Fiction · grades 2–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of babysitters, conduct of life, and behavior. 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 2–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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My Explosive Diarygrades 2–8: Shares themes of spies, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Say What?grades 2–8: Shares themes of conduct of life, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Jobgrades 3–8: Shares themes of babysitters, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Bad Kittygrades K–3: Shares themes of behavior, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Class Clowngrades 3–5: Shares themes of behavior, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Copycatgrades K–3: Shares themes of behavior, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Counting by 7sgrades 2–8: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Fourth Grade Ratsgrades 4–6: Shares themes of conduct of life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Front Desk640L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost730L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Lulu's Mysterious Mission for younger readers (K–2)

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

Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Miss Nelson Is Missing by Harry Allard · grades K–3 — Shares themes of behavior, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3).
No David! by David Shannon · grades K–3 — Shares themes of conduct of life and behavior and overlapping grades (K–3).
¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raúl the Third III · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Donut Feed the Squirrels by Mika Song · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).

Books like Lulu's Mysterious Mission for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes · 360L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Henry Reed's Babysitting Service by Keith Robertson · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of babysitters, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Miss Nelson Is Missing by Harry Allard · grades K–3 — Shares themes of behavior, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3).
No David! by David Shannon · grades K–3 — Shares themes of conduct of life and behavior and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like Lulu's Mysterious Mission for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes · 360L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Henry Reed's Babysitting Service by Keith Robertson · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of babysitters, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of spies, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8).
Night Hoops by Carl Deuker · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of behavior, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).

Books like Lulu's Mysterious Mission for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul by Jack Canfield · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of conduct of life and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Night Hoops by Carl Deuker · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of behavior, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of conduct of life and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of conduct of life and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to Lulu's Mysterious Mission?: The 10 closest matches to Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst on ReadingList include My Explosive Diary, Say What?, Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job, Bad Kitty, and Class Clown. Each is scored on shared themes (babysitters, conduct of life, and behavior), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Lulu's Mysterious Mission reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–8), 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.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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