What books are similar to Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing?

The 10 closest matches to Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume on ReadingList include Ramona the Pest, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Old Yeller, Rascal, and The Season of Styx Malone. Each is scored on shared themes (siblings, family, and everyday life), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–5), 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 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

If you liked Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, read Ramona the Pest, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or Old Yeller — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (Middle Grade Fiction · 470L · grades 2–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of siblings, family, and everyday life. 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 2–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Ramona the Pest750L: Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Old Yellergrades 5–8: Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Rascalgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
The Season of Styx Malone510L: Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Summer of the Monkeysgrades 4–7: Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Out of My Mind700L: Shares themes of family, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Wonder790L: Shares themes of family, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+5 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Maniac Magee820L: Shares themes of family, both on the North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Ramona Quimby, Age 8860L: Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →

Books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing 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), same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–4).
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle · 460L — Shares themes of growing up, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (460L vs 470L).
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo · 450L — Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (450L vs 470L).
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner · 490L — Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (490L vs 470L).
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1) by Mary Pope Osborne · 510L — Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (510L vs 470L).

Books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien · 790L — Shares themes of family, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson · 440L — Shares themes of growing up, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (440L vs 470L).
El Deafo by Cece Bell · 420L — Shares themes of growing up, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (420L vs 470L).
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo · 610L — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and a close reading level (610L vs 470L).
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater · Florence Atwater · 910L — Shares themes of family, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).

Books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien · 790L — Shares themes of family, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson · 440L — Shares themes of growing up, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (440L vs 470L).
El Deafo by Cece Bell · 420L — Shares themes of growing up, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (420L vs 470L).
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley · 580L — Shares themes of family, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (580L vs 470L).
Blended by Sharon M. Draper · 610L — Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).

Books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing 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 and growing up and both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list.
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (5–9).
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas · 590L — Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (590L vs 470L).
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Shares themes of family, both on the North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award list, and a close reading level (720L vs 470L).
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · 810L — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists).

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

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