What books are similar to Small Spaces?

The 10 closest matches to Small Spaces by Katherine Arden on ReadingList include 11 Birthdays, A Million Ways Home, El Deafo, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, and Fish in a Tree. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Small Spaces reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–5), 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 Small Spaces

If you liked Small Spaces, read 11 Birthdays, A Million Ways Home, or El Deafo — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Small Spaces by Katherine Arden? 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 3–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
A Million Ways Homegrades 4–6: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
El Deafo420L: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+5 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Fish in a Tree550L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Front Desk640L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Fudge-a-Maniagrades 3–6: Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award (ICCA) list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Ghost730L: Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Ghost Boys360L: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Guinea Doggrades 3–5: Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →

Books like Small Spaces for younger readers (K–2)

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

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (2–4).
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, overlapping grades (1–4), 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).

Books like Small Spaces for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Life on Mars by Jennifer Brown · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Malcolm at Midnight by W. H. Beck · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park · grades 5–8 — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).
New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Small Spaces for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Buddy by M. H. Herlong · grades 6–8 — Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret · grades 6–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Hidden by Helen Frost · grades 6–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park · grades 5–8 — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).
New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Small Spaces for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · 810L — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
Allies by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen · grades 7–12 — Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list 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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