What books are similar to Peppermints in the Parlor?

The 10 closest matches to Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace on ReadingList include Horror at the Haunted House, The Ghost of Fossil Glen, The Curse of the Blue Figurine, Wait Till Helen Comes, and The Cursed Moon. Each is scored on shared themes (old age in fiction, old age, and orphans in fiction), 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 Peppermints in the Parlor 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.

Books like Peppermints in the Parlor

If you liked Peppermints in the Parlor, read Horror at the Haunted House, The Ghost of Fossil Glen, or The Curse of the Blue Figurine — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Horror at the Haunted House by Peg Kehret — shares horror stories

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Looking for books like Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace (Horror · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of old age in fiction, old age, and orphans in fiction. 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.

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Why each is a match

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Horror at the Haunted Housegrades 4–6: Shares themes of horror stories, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost of Fossil Glengrades 3–8: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Curse of the Blue Figurinegrades 6–8: Shares themes of horror stories and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Wait Till Helen Comesgrades 4–7: Same genre (Horror), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
The Cursed Moongrades 3–6: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
All the Lovely Bad Onesgrades 5–8: Same genre (Horror) and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost in the Housegrades 4–6: Same genre (Horror) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Night Terrorsgrades 6–8: Same genre (Horror) and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Once They See You: 13 Stories to Shiver and Shockgrades 4–8: Same genre (Horror) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Skeleton Creekgrades 3–8: Shares themes of horror stories and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →