What books are similar to The Cats in Krasinski Square?

The 10 closest matches to The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse on ReadingList include A Night Divided, Barbed Wire Baseball, Echo, High-Wire Henry, and Out of the Dust. Each is scored on shared themes (jews, persecutions, and cats), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Cats in Krasinski Square reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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 The Cats in Krasinski Square

If you liked The Cats in Krasinski Square, read A Night Divided, Barbed Wire Baseball, or Echo — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse (Historical Fiction · grades 3–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of jews, persecutions, and cats. 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 3–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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A Night Dividedgrades 5–8: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Barbed Wire Baseballgrades 3–8: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Echo680L: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
High-Wire Henrygrades K–3: Shares themes of cats, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Out of the Dust740L: Is by Karen Hesse, the same author and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Refugee800L: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon → books like this →
Salt to the Sea560L: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon → books like this →
Snipergrades 6–8: Shares themes of cats, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
The War I Finally Wongrades 5–8: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—19631000L: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Cats in Krasinski Square for younger readers (K–2)

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

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel · grades K–3 — Shares themes of cats and overlapping grades (K–3).
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2000s).
Skippyjon Jones by Judith Byron Schachner · grades K–3 — Shares themes of cats and overlapping grades (K–3).
Titanicat by Marty Crisp · grades K–3 — Shares themes of cats and overlapping grades (K–3).
Widget by Lyn Rossiter McFarland · grades K–3 — Shares themes of cats and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like The Cats in Krasinski Square for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2000s).
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel · grades K–3 — Shares themes of cats and overlapping grades (K–3).
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2000s).
Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2000s).
Skippyjon Jones by Judith Byron Schachner · grades K–3 — Shares themes of cats and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like The Cats in Krasinski Square for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2000s).
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2000s).
Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2000s).
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak · 730L — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (8–11), and the same era (2000s).
The Stranger Next Door by Peg Kehret · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of cats and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like The Cats in Krasinski Square for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

All We Have Left by Wendy Mills · grades 9–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo · grades 9–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and same genre (Historical Fiction).
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys · grades 9–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Torch by Lyn Miller-Lachmann · grades 9–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín · grades 9–10 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and the same era (2000s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Cats in Krasinski Square?: The 10 closest matches to The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse on ReadingList include A Night Divided, Barbed Wire Baseball, Echo, High-Wire Henry, and Out of the Dust. Each is scored on shared themes (jews, persecutions, and cats), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Cats in Krasinski Square reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–8), 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.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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