What books are similar to The Boy on the Porch?

The 10 closest matches to The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech on ReadingList include 11 Birthdays, A Million Ways Home, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Fish in a Tree, and Ghost. 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 The Boy on the Porch 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 The Boy on the Porch

If you liked The Boy on the Porch, read 11 Birthdays, A Million Ways Home, or Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech? 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 William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), 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 →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Fish in a Tree550L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Ghost730L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →
Ghost Boys360L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+2 more shared lists), 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 →
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactusgrades 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 →
Life on Marsgrades 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 →
Malcolm at Midnightgrades 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 The Boy on the Porch for younger readers (K–2)

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

Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
My Explosive Diary by Emily Gale · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Boy on the Porch for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s).
Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden · 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).
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Boy on the Porch for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

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).
New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s).
Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Boy on the Porch for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list and the same era (2010s).
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list and the same era (2010s).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) 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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