What books are similar to Simon Sort of Says?

The 10 closest matches to Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow on ReadingList include Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Confessions of a Class Clown, The First State of Being, Heroes, and Swim Team. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, humor, and courage), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Simon Sort of Says reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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 Simon Sort of Says

If you liked Simon Sort of Says, read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Confessions of a Class Clown, or The First State of Being — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship, humor, and courage. 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 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Confessions of a Class Clowngrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
The First State of Beinggrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Heroesgrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
Swim Teamgrades 3–7: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
The BFG720L: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Dogtowngrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship, humor, and courage and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Fish in a Tree550L: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone880L: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Out of My Mind700L: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →

Books like Simon Sort of Says for younger readers (K–2)

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

A Lot to Like! by Derek Anderson · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of friendship and humor and both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list.
Fox Has a Problem by Corey R. Tabor · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of friendship and humor and both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list.
The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of friendship and humor and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of friendship and humor and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of friendship and humor and both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list.

Books like Simon Sort of Says for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

J vs. K by Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and courage and both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo · 610L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship and humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).

Books like Simon Sort of Says for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship and humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship, humor, and courage and overlapping grades (3–6).
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like Simon Sort of Says for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of friendship and courage and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak · 730L — Shares themes of friendship and courage and overlapping grades (8–11).
Allies by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Shares themes of courage, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and overlapping grades (8–12).
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of courage, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–9).

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

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