What books are similar to The Girl Who Figured It Out?

The 10 closest matches to The Girl Who Figured It Out by Minda Dentler on ReadingList include Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos, A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen, Ernö Rubik and His Magic Cube, Pedro's Yo-Yos: How a Filipino Immigrant Came to America and Changed the World of Toys, and Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust. Each is scored on shared themes (determination, disability, and biography), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Girl Who Figured It Out reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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 Girl Who Figured It Out

If you liked The Girl Who Figured It Out, read Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos first — the closest match in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Looking for books like The Girl Who Figured It Out by Minda Dentler (Picture Book · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of determination, disability, and biography. 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinosgrades 2–5: Shares themes of biography and perseverance, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon →
A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchengrades 3–6: Shares themes of biography, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon →
Ernö Rubik and His Magic Cubegrades 3–6: Shares themes of biography, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon →
Pedro's Yo-Yos: How a Filipino Immigrant Came to America and Changed the World of Toysgrades 3–6: Shares themes of biography, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon →
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaustgrades 2–5: Shares themes of biography, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon →
Introducing Sandwina: The Strongest Woman in the World!grades 2–5: Shares themes of biography, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon →
Knight Owlgrades K–3: Shares themes of perseverance, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Knight Owl and Early Birdgrades K–3: Shares themes of perseverance, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockeygrades 3–7: Shares themes of biography and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
A Single Shard920L: Shares themes of determination and perseverance and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →

Books like The Girl Who Figured It Out for younger readers (K–2)

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

Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater · grades K–2 — Shares themes of perseverance and same genre (Picture Book).
You're So Amazing! by James Catchpole · grades K–2 — Shares themes of disability and same genre (Picture Book).
A Land of Books by Duncan Tonatiuh · grades K–5 — Same genre (Picture Book), overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).
A Letter for Bob by Kim Rogers · grades K–3 — Same genre (Picture Book), overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (2020s).
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Same genre (Picture Book), overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (2020s).

Books like The Girl Who Figured It Out for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of perseverance, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines by Mo Netz · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of disability, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
A Land of Books by Duncan Tonatiuh · grades K–5 — Same genre (Picture Book), overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2020s).
A Letter for Bob by Kim Rogers · grades K–3 — Same genre (Picture Book), overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (2020s).
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Same genre (Picture Book), overlapping grades (K–3), and the same era (2020s).

Books like The Girl Who Figured It Out for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of perseverance, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines by Mo Netz · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of disability, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
Brick Dust and Bones by M.R. Fournet · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of perseverance and overlapping grades (6–8).
Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of perseverance and overlapping grades (6–8).
Evidence! How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera by Deborah Hopkinson · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of biography and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like The Girl Who Figured It Out for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes · 910L — Shares themes of disability.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck · 630L — Shares themes of disability.
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of disability.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon · 1090L — Shares themes of disability.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway · 940L — Shares themes of perseverance.

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

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