What books are similar to The Crossover?

The 10 closest matches to The Crossover by Kwame Alexander on ReadingList include Walk Two Moons, Rebound, Dear Mr. Henshaw, Long Way Down, and Wonder. Each is scored on shared themes (family, brotherhood, and basketball), 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 The Crossover 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 The Crossover

If you liked The Crossover, read Walk Two Moons, Rebound, or Dear Mr. Henshaw — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Verse Novel · 750L · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, brotherhood, and basketball. 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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Walk Two Moons770L: Shares themes of family, grief, and identity, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+3 more shared lists), and a close reading level (770L vs 750L). Amazon →
Rebound780L: Shares themes of family and basketball, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and same genre (Verse Novel). Amazon →
Dear Mr. Henshawgrades 4–6: Shares themes of family, grief, and identity, both on the Newbery Medal list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Long Way Down720L: Shares themes of family and grief, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, and a close reading level (720L vs 750L). Amazon →
Wonder790L: Shares themes of family, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+8 more shared lists), and a close reading level (790L vs 750L). Amazon →
Merci Suárez Changes Gears700L: Shares themes of family and identity, both on the Newbery Medal list, and a close reading level (700L vs 750L). Amazon →
Out of My Mind700L: Shares themes of family, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), and a close reading level (700L vs 750L). Amazon →
The Poet X800L: Shares themes of family and identity, both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list, and a close reading level (800L vs 750L). Amazon →
Where the Red Fern Grows700L: Shares themes of family and grief, both on the Massachusetts Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (700L vs 750L). Amazon →
Blended610L: Shares themes of family and identity, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (610L vs 750L). Amazon →

Books like The Crossover for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of family, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (2–5).
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey · 730L — Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (730L vs 750L).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of family and grief.

Books like The Crossover for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes · 360L — Shares themes of family and identity, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (740L vs 750L).
Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), and a close reading level (730L vs 750L).
Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), and a close reading level (730L vs 750L).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (800L vs 750L).

Books like The Crossover for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes · 360L — Shares themes of family and identity, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (740L vs 750L).
Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), and a close reading level (730L vs 750L).
Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Shares themes of identity, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), and a close reading level (730L vs 750L).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (800L vs 750L).

Books like The Crossover for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and a close reading level (800L vs 750L).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of family and identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger · 790L — Shares themes of grief and identity, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (790L vs 750L).
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Shares themes of grief, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and a close reading level (850L vs 750L).
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family, grief, and identity and overlapping grades (6–9).

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

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