What books are similar to The Boy's War?

The 10 closest matches to The Boy's War by Jim Murphy on ReadingList include The Long Road to Gettysburg, An American Plague, Catherine, Called Birdy, Chicken Sunday, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–10), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Boy's War reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–10), 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's War

If you liked The Boy's War, read The Long Road to Gettysburg, An American Plague, or Catherine, Called Birdy — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Boy's War by Jim Murphy (Children's · grades 4–10)? 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 4–10 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

Reading the whole similar-books list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Why each is a match

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The Long Road to Gettysburggrades 4–10: Is by Jim Murphy, the same author, both on the Golden Kite Award list, and same genre (Children's). Amazon → books like this →
An American Plaguegrades 4–10: Is by Jim Murphy, the same author, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Catherine, Called Birdygrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Chicken Sundaygrades K–5: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Franklin Delano Rooseveltgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Home Placegrades K–5: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Kids at Workgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Martha Grahamgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Old Elm Speaksgrades K–5: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Rules of the Road #1grades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Boy's War for younger readers (K–2)

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

A Band of Angels by Deborah Hopkinson · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
A Dance Like Starlight by Kristy Dempsey · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
A Green Place to be by Ashley Benham Yazdani · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
All Because You Matter (An All Because You Matter Book) by Tami Charles · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).

Books like The Boy's War for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Small Steps by Peg Kehret · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Stones in Water by Donna Jo Napoli · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark by Rhoda Blumberg · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Rain Catchers by Jean Thesman · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

Books like The Boy's War for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Small Steps by Peg Kehret · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Stones in Water by Donna Jo Napoli · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark by Rhoda Blumberg · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Rain Catchers by Jean Thesman · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

Books like The Boy's War for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Small Steps by Peg Kehret · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Stones in Water by Donna Jo Napoli · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark by Rhoda Blumberg · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Rain Catchers by Jean Thesman · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

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

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