Books like Oliver's Great Big Universe

If you liked Oliver's Great Big Universe, read Jawbreaker, The Superteacher Project, or Confessions of a Class Clown — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Oliver's Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of science, humor, and middle school. 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.

10 books similar to Oliver's Great Big Universe

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Why each is a match

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Jawbreakergrades 3–7
Shares themes of middle school, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
The Superteacher Projectgrades 3–6
Shares themes of humor, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Confessions of a Class Clowngrades 6–8
Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Haiku, Ew! Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Naturegrades 3–6
Shares themes of science and humor and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
J vs. Kgrades 3–5
Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Popcorngrades 4–8
Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Simon Sort of Saysgrades 6–8
Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Royal Conundrumgrades 3–6
Shares themes of humor, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L
Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Dogtowngrades 3–6
Shares themes of humor, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Oliver's Great Big Universe for younger readers (K–2)

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

  • The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).
  • The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).
  • A Journey Under the Sea by Craig Foster · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of science and overlapping grades (2–5).
  • A Lot to Like! by Derek Anderson · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of humor and overlapping grades (2–5).
  • Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of humor and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Oliver's Great Big Universe for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel by Rex Ogle · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of middle school, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7).
  • My Teacher Is an Alien by Bruce Coville · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of science and humor and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5).
  • The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).
  • The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Oliver's Great Big Universe for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel by Rex Ogle · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of middle school, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7).
  • My Teacher Is an Alien by Bruce Coville · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of science and humor and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • The Firefly Summer by Morgan Matson · grades 3–7 — Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7).
  • The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 3–7 — Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7).
  • The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry by Chad Morris · grades 3–6 — Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like Oliver's Great Big Universe for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2020s).
  • The Doom Stone by Paul Zindel · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of science and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of humor.
  • Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of humor.

Common questions

What books are similar to Oliver's Great Big Universe?
The 10 closest matches to Oliver's Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham on ReadingList include Jawbreaker, The Superteacher Project, Confessions of a Class Clown, Haiku, Ew! Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature, and J vs. K. Each is scored on shared themes (science, humor, and middle school), 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 Oliver's Great Big Universe 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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