Books like Million-Dollar Throw

If you liked Million-Dollar Throw, read Because of Winn-Dixie, Game Changer, or Bink & Gollie — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica (Sports Fiction · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of football, pressure, and friendship. 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.

10 books similar to Million-Dollar Throw

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Why each is a match

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Because of Winn-Dixie610L
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Game Changergrades 5–8
Shares themes of football, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and same genre (Sports Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Bink & Golliegrades 2–8
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Sports Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Rulesgrades 4–7
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself500L
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Charlotte's Web680L
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
City of Ghostsgrades 4–7
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Dog Man390L
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone880L
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware Library Association, Youth Services Division) — Middle Readers division list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Million-Dollar Throw for younger readers (K–2)

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

Books like Million-Dollar Throw for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Smile by Raina Telgemeier · 410L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Stuart Little by E.B. White · 920L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–5).
  • Swindle by Gordon Korman · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like Million-Dollar Throw for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Smile by Raina Telgemeier · 410L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Swindle by Gordon Korman · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo · 670L — Both on the Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware Library Association, Youth Services Division) — Middle Readers division list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2000s).

Books like Million-Dollar Throw for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak · 730L — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (8–11).
  • The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini · 840L — Shares themes of friendship.
  • The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (7–10).
  • Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (5–9).
  • Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes · 910L — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (8–11).

Common questions

What books are similar to Million-Dollar Throw?
The 10 closest matches to Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica on ReadingList include Because of Winn-Dixie, Game Changer, Bink & Gollie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Rules. Each is scored on shared themes (football, pressure, and friendship), 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 Million-Dollar Throw 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.

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

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