What books are similar to NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society?

The 10 closest matches to NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley on ReadingList include A Boy at War, 102 Days of Lying About Lauren, A Story, a Story, A Tree Is Nice, and A Year Down Yonder. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

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 NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society

If you liked NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society, read A Boy at War, 102 Days of Lying About Lauren, or A Story, a Story — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley (Juvenile Fiction · grades 3–6)? 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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A Boy at Wargrades 3–6: Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
102 Days of Lying About Laurengrades 6–8: Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Story, a Storygrades K–3: Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
A Tree Is Nicegrades K–3: Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
A Year Down Yondergrades 3–7: Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
All the Blues in the Skygrades 3–7: Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
And Then, Boom!grades 4–5: Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–5). Amazon → books like this →
Arrow to the Sungrades K–3: Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Barnaby Unboxed!grades 2–3: Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (2–3). Amazon → books like this →
Big Snow and Other Storiesgrades K–3: Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →

Books like NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ballet Brown by Bellen Woodard · grades K–1 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction).
Black and White by David Macaulay · grades K–3 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (K–3).
Braided Roots by Pasha Westbrook · grades 2–3 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (2–3).
Cabin Head and Tree Head by Scott Campbell · grades 2–3 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (2–3).
Cinderella and Aladdin by Carron Brown · grades K–3 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Black and White by David Macaulay · grades K–3 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (K–3).
Bones on Black Spruce Mountain by David Budbill · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–8).
Braided Roots by Pasha Westbrook · grades 2–3 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (2–3).
Bubblegum Shoes: The Case of the Contraband Closet by Goldy Moldavsky · grades 4–5 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–5).
Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan · grades 4–5 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–5).

Books like NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Bones on Black Spruce Mountain by David Budbill · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–8).
Caddie Woodlawn's Family by Carol Ryrie Brink · grades 3–7 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–7).
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham · grades 3–7 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–7).
Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters by Pat McKissack · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–8).
Clementine by Ann Hood · grades 6–8 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction) and overlapping grades (6–8).

Books like NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Beasts by Ingvild Bjerkeland · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction).
Gone Wolf by Amber McBride · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction).
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Juvenile Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society?: The 10 closest matches to NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley on ReadingList include A Boy at War, 102 Days of Lying About Lauren, A Story, a Story, A Tree Is Nice, and A Year Down Yonder. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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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