Books like Stepping on the Cracks

If you liked Stepping on the Cracks, read Deep and Dark and Dangerous, The Old Willis Place, or Bull Run — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn? 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 4–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Stepping on the Cracks

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Why each is a match

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Deep and Dark and Dangerousgrades 4–6
Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Old Willis Placegrades 3–6
Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Bull Rungrades 5–8
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
Forty Acres And Maybe A Mulegrades 4–7
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
Jipgrades 5–8
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
Morning Girlgrades 4–7
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
Out of the Dust740L
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
The Giver760L
Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
A Sea of Lemon Treesgrades 5–8
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
African Towngrades 7–12
Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to Stepping on the Cracks?
The 10 closest matches to Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn on ReadingList include Deep and Dark and Dangerous, The Old Willis Place, Bull Run, Forty Acres And Maybe A Mule, and Jip. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Stepping on the Cracks reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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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