What books are similar to P.S. Be Eleven?

The 10 closest matches to P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia on ReadingList include Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold), New Kid, Bad News for Outlaws, Freewater, and Unspeakable. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like P.S. Be Eleven reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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 P.S. Be Eleven

If you liked P.S. Be Eleven, read Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold), New Kid, or Bad News for Outlaws — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia? 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold)grades 5–8: Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
New Kidgrades 4–8: Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Bad News for Outlawsgrades 3–7: Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Freewatergrades 4–7: Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Unspeakablegrades 3–7: Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
A Few Red Dropsgrades 7–12: Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself500L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Brown Girl Dreaming990L: Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Chickadeegrades 4–7: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →

Books like P.S. Be Eleven for younger readers (K–2)

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

Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems · grades K–2 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet · grades 1–4 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Kate DiCamillo · grades K–2 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Charlie & Mouse Even Better by Laurel Snyder · grades K–2 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (2–5), and the same era (2010s).

Books like P.S. Be Eleven for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet · grades 1–4 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Dash (Dogs of World War II) by Kirby Larson · grades 4–7 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos · grades 4–7 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (2–5), and the same era (2010s).
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).

Books like P.S. Be Eleven for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Dash (Dogs of World War II) by Kirby Larson · grades 4–7 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos · grades 4–7 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt · 550L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Front Desk by Kelly Yang · 640L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s).

Books like P.S. Be Eleven for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper · grades 9–12 — Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list and the same era (2010s).
March Book Three by John Lewis · grades 9–12 — Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list and the same era (2010s).
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson · grades 7–12 — Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s).
The Wall by Peter Sís · grades 5–9 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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