Books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle
If you liked Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle, read Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness first — the closest match in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.
Looking for books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Brian Dennis (Nonfiction · grades 4–8)? 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle
Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the WildernessDonn Fendler
Evidence! How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of CholeraDeborah Hopkinson
Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. HelensRebecca E. Barone
Narwhal: Unicorn of the ArcticCandace Fleming
Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our PlanetGeo Rutherford
The Dark!: Wild Life in the Mysterious World of CavesLindsey Leigh
The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of HockeyChad Soon & Amy Maranville
A Handful of StarsCynthia Lord
Pop! The Invention of Bubble GumMeghan McCarthy
Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave ArtHannah Salyer
Reading the whole similar-books list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.
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Why each is a match
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- Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wildernessgrades 4–8
- Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Evidence! How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Choleragrades 3–6
- Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
- Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helensgrades 4–8
- Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arcticgrades 3–6
- Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
- Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planetgrades 4–8
- Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
- The Dark!: Wild Life in the Mysterious World of Cavesgrades 3–7
- Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
- The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockeygrades 3–7
- Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
- A Handful of Starsgrades 3–8
- Same genre (Nonfiction), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gumgrades 3–6
- Same genre (Nonfiction), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Artgrades 4–8
- Same genre (Nonfiction) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle for younger readers (K–2)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.
- A Friend for Lakota: The Incredible True Story of a Wolf Who Braved Bullying by Jim Dutcher · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
- Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library! by Vicki Myron · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
- Good Dog by Maya Gottfried · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
- I'm Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton · grades K–2 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
- Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln by Shari Swanson · grades K–2 — Same genre (Nonfiction).
Books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle for elementary readers (grades 3–5)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.
- A Friend for Lakota: The Incredible True Story of a Wolf Who Braved Bullying by Jim Dutcher · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
- Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library! by Vicki Myron · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
- Good Dog by Maya Gottfried · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
- Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Susan Jeffers · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and overlapping grades (4–8).
- Destiny Finds Her Way: How a Rescued Baby Sloth Learned to Be Wild by Margarita Engle · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and overlapping grades (3–6).
Books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle for middle school (grades 6–8)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.
- Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Susan Jeffers · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and overlapping grades (4–8).
- Destiny Finds Her Way: How a Rescued Baby Sloth Learned to Be Wild by Margarita Engle · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and overlapping grades (3–6).
- El Deafo by Cece Bell · 420L — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
- Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
- Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle for high school & teens (grades 9–12)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.
- Bonnie and Clyde: The Making of a Legend by Karen Blumenthal · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
- The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
- Murder Among Friends by Candace Fleming · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Nonfiction).
- Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
Common questions
- What books are similar to Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle?
- The 10 closest matches to Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Brian Dennis on ReadingList include Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness, Evidence! How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera, Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens, Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic, and Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
- Are books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle reading-level appropriate?
- Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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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