What books are similar to Skyriders?

The 10 closest matches to Skyriders by Polly Holyoke on ReadingList include Brick Dust and Bones, Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl, Dogtown, Impossible Creatures, and Swim Team. Each is scored on shared themes (courage, friendship, and perseverance), 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 Skyriders 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 Skyriders

If you liked Skyriders, read Brick Dust and Bones, Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl, or Dogtown — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Skyriders by Polly Holyoke (Middle Grade Fantasy · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance. 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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Brick Dust and Bonesgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon →
Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatlgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon →
Dogtowngrades 3–6: Shares themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Impossible Creaturesgrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage and friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Swim Teamgrades 3–7: Shares themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Control Freaksgrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
Fablehavengrades 4–7: Shares themes of courage and friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone880L: Shares themes of courage and friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Heroesgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage and friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →
Simon Sort of Saysgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage and friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon →

Books like Skyriders for younger readers (K–2)

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

Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance.
Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance.
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) by Christina Soontornvat · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage and friendship and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage and friendship and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Just Like Millie by Lauren Castillo · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage and friendship.

Books like Skyriders for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Growing Home by Beth Ferry · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance.
Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance.
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) by Christina Soontornvat · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage and friendship and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).

Books like Skyriders for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage and friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan · 740L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Amir and the Jinn Princess by M. T. Khan · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Global by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance and overlapping grades (6–8).

Books like Skyriders 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 courage and friendship and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak · 730L — Shares themes of courage and friendship and overlapping grades (8–11).
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
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).
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of courage.

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

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