What books are similar to Surviving the Applewhites?

The 10 closest matches to Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan on ReadingList include So B. It, Shiloh, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Ghost Boys, and Mick Harte Was Here. Each is scored on shared themes (family, art, and growth), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Surviving the Applewhites reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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 Surviving the Applewhites

If you liked Surviving the Applewhites, read So B. It, Shiloh, or Diary of a Wimpy Kid — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan (Realistic Fiction · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, art, and growth. 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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So B. Itgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Shiloh890L: Shares themes of family, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Shares themes of family, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Ghost Boys360L: Shares themes of family, both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Rulesgrades 4–7: Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Stuck in Neutralgrades 7–10: Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrisegrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
The Thing About Leftoversgrades 4–7: Shares themes of family, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Forged by Firegrades 7–10: Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10). Amazon →

Books like Surviving the Applewhites for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of family and art.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton · 530L — Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (2–5).
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows · 580L — Shares themes of family.

Books like Surviving the Applewhites for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart · grades 5–8 — Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–8).

Books like Surviving the Applewhites for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart · grades 5–8 — Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).

Books like Surviving the Applewhites for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie · 920L — Shares themes of family.

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

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