What books are similar to Peter and the Starcatchers?

The 10 closest matches to Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry on ReadingList include The Wishing Spell, Word Eater, Dragons Love Tacos, Eragon, and The Lifters. Each is scored on shared themes (characters in literature, humorous stories, and magic), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Peter and the Starcatchers reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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 Peter and the Starcatchers

If you liked Peter and the Starcatchers, read The Wishing Spell, Word Eater, or Dragons Love Tacos — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry (Fantasy · grades 3–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of characters in literature, humorous stories, and magic. 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 3–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Wishing Spellgrades 3–8: Shares themes of characters in literature and magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Word Eatergrades 3–8: Shares themes of magic, both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Dragons Love Tacosgrades K–3: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Eragongrades 6–9: Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Liftersgrades 3–8: Shares themes of magic, both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
12 Againgrades 6–8: Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Falling for Rapunzelgrades K–3: Shares themes of characters in literature and humorous stories and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
The Dunderheadsgrades 3–5: Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
The Mysterious Matter of I. M. Finegrades 3–5: Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
The Red Pyramidgrades 3–8: Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Peter and the Starcatchers for younger readers (K–2)

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

Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky · grades 1–4 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (1–4).
Skippyjon Jones by Judith Byron Schachner · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and overlapping grades (K–3).
Substitute Teacher Plans by Johnson, Doug · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and overlapping grades (K–3).
The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (2–8).
The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens · grades K–3 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like Peter and the Starcatchers for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Double Fudge by Judy Blume · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins · grades 4–7 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Mary Poppins by Pamela L. Travers · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like Peter and the Starcatchers for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of pirates, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8).
Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Double Fudge by Judy Blume · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins · grades 4–7 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like Peter and the Starcatchers for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross · grades 9–12 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list and same genre (Fantasy).
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · 810L — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2000s).
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of humorous stories.
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (6–9).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to Peter and the Starcatchers?: The 10 closest matches to Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry on ReadingList include The Wishing Spell, Word Eater, Dragons Love Tacos, Eragon, and The Lifters. Each is scored on shared themes (characters in literature, humorous stories, and magic), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Peter and the Starcatchers reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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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