What books are similar to Star in the Storm?

The 10 closest matches to Star in the Storm by Joan Hiatt Harlow on ReadingList include ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat, Shiloh Season, Lewis and Clark and Me, My Dog, My Hero, and Owney: The Mail-Pouch Pooch. Each is scored on shared themes (canada, dogs, and newfoundland dog), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Star in the Storm reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–8), 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 Star in the Storm

If you liked Star in the Storm, read ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat, Shiloh Season, or Lewis and Clark and Me — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Star in the Storm by Joan Hiatt Harlow (Realistic Fiction · grades 2–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of canada, dogs, and newfoundland dog. 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 2–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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¡Vamos! Let's Go Eatgrades 2–8: Shares themes of dogs, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Shiloh Seasongrades 3–6: Shares themes of dogs, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Lewis and Clark and Megrades 3–6: Shares themes of dogs and newfoundland dog and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
My Dog, My Herogrades 3–5: Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Owney: The Mail-Pouch Poochgrades 3–8: Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Good Doggrades 3–6: Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Widgetgrades K–3: Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
A Dog Called Kittygrades 3–5: Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Bagdad Ate Itgrades K–3: Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Bristle Facegrades 4–8: Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Star in the Storm for younger readers (K–2)

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

Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Don't Need Friends by Carolyn Crimi · grades K–2 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–2).
High-Wire Henry by Mary Calhoun · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp · grades K–2 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–2).

Books like Star in the Storm for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Ellie's Story by W. Bruce Cameron · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Fudge by Charlotte Towner Graeber · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
High-Wire Henry by Mary Calhoun · grades K–3 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).

Books like Star in the Storm for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Ellie's Story by W. Bruce Cameron · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Fudge by Charlotte Towner Graeber · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of dogs, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Rules by Cynthia Lord · grades 4–7 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Star in the Storm for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
After by Francine Prose · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2000s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Star in the Storm?: The 10 closest matches to Star in the Storm by Joan Hiatt Harlow on ReadingList include ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat, Shiloh Season, Lewis and Clark and Me, My Dog, My Hero, and Owney: The Mail-Pouch Pooch. Each is scored on shared themes (canada, dogs, and newfoundland dog), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Star in the Storm reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–8), 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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