What books are similar to Maus: A Survivor's Tale?

The 10 closest matches to Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman on ReadingList include Night, Salt to the Sea, Life of Pi, The Book Thief, and The Call of the Wild. Each is scored on shared themes (Holocaust, intergenerational trauma, and memory and history), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Maus: A Survivor's Tale reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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 Maus: A Survivor's Tale

If you liked Maus: A Survivor's Tale, read Night, Salt to the Sea, or Life of Pi — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman (Graphic Novel / Memoir · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of Holocaust, intergenerational trauma, and memory and history. 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 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Night590L: Shares themes of Holocaust and survival, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →
Salt to the Sea560L: Shares themes of Holocaust and survival and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon →
Life of Pi830L: Shares themes of survival, both on the AP English Literature & Composition list, and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →
The Book Thief730L: Shares themes of Holocaust, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and overlapping grades (8–11). Amazon →
The Call of the Wild1120L: Shares themes of survival, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and overlapping grades (6–10). Amazon →
The Diary of a Young Girl1080L: Shares themes of Holocaust, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and overlapping grades (7–10). Amazon →
The Hunger Games810L: Shares themes of survival, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon →
How to Survive Your Murdergrades 9–12: Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →
Refugee800L: Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon →
Sky's Endgrades 7–12: Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon →

Books like Maus: A Survivor's Tale for younger readers (K–2)

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

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of survival.
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of Holocaust.
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of survival.

Books like Maus: A Survivor's Tale for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen · 1020L — Shares themes of survival and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry · 670L — Shares themes of Holocaust and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell · 1000L — Shares themes of survival and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of graphic narrative and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen · 730L — Shares themes of Holocaust.

Books like Maus: A Survivor's Tale for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen · 1020L — Shares themes of survival and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry · 670L — Shares themes of Holocaust and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell · 1000L — Shares themes of survival and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of graphic narrative and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen · 730L — Shares themes of Holocaust.

Books like Maus: A Survivor's Tale for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (7–12).
That's Not My Name by Megan Lally · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (9–12).
The Doom Stone by Paul Zindel · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (7–12).
The Maze Runner by James Dashner · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (7–12).

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

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