What books are similar to The Goof that Won the Pennant?

The 10 closest matches to The Goof that Won the Pennant by Jonah Kalb on ReadingList include Heart of a Champion, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Don't Hurt Laurie, High Heat, and A Boy Called Bat. Each is scored on shared themes (baseball and baseball, fiction), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Goof that Won the Pennant reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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 Goof that Won the Pennant

If you liked The Goof that Won the Pennant, read Heart of a Champion, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, or Don't Hurt Laurie — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Goof that Won the Pennant by Jonah Kalb (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of baseball and baseball, fiction. 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Heart of a Championgrades 6–8: Shares themes of baseball and baseball, fiction, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaretgrades 4–6: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Don't Hurt Lauriegrades 4–8: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
High Heatgrades 6–9: Shares themes of baseball, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
A Boy Called Batgrades 3–5: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Jobgrades 3–8: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Cardboardgrades 6–8: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Cliff-Hangergrades 4–6: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Forged by Firegrades 7–10: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10). Amazon → books like this →
Fudgegrades 4–6: Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Goof that Won the Pennant for younger readers (K–2)

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

Arrowhawk by Lola M. Schaefer · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like The Goof that Won the Pennant for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Arrowhawk by Lola M. Schaefer · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Ghost Soldier by Elaine Marie Alphin · grades 4–6 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like The Goof that Won the Pennant for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Ghost Soldier by Elaine Marie Alphin · grades 4–6 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen · grades 6–8 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8).
Jelly Belly by Robert Kimmel Smith · grades 4–6 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park · grades 5–8 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Operation: Dump the Chump by Barbara Park · grades 4–8 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like The Goof that Won the Pennant for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli · grades 6–9 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Compound by S. A. Bodeen · grades 6–9 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Goof that Won the Pennant?: The 10 closest matches to The Goof that Won the Pennant by Jonah Kalb on ReadingList include Heart of a Champion, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Don't Hurt Laurie, High Heat, and A Boy Called Bat. Each is scored on shared themes (baseball and baseball, fiction), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Goof that Won the Pennant reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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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