Books like The Graveyard Book
Looking for books like The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Middle Grade Fantasy · 820L · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of found family, the supernatural and the living, and coming of age. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, 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.
10 books similar to The Graveyard Book
The Poet XElizabeth Acevedo · 800L
Tuck EverlastingNatalie Babbitt · 770L
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)Rick Riordan · 740L
American Born ChineseGene Luen Yang · 530L
I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)Malala Yousafzai · 830L
The Witch of Blackbird PondElizabeth George Speare · 850L
Ender's GameOrson Scott Card · 780L- ReboundK.A.ReboundKwame Alexander · 780L
The House on Mango StreetSandra Cisneros · 870L
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee · 870L
Why each is a match
- The Poet X800L
- Shares themes of coming of age and identity and a close reading level (800L vs 820L).
- Tuck Everlasting770L
- Shares themes of coming of age, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and a close reading level (770L vs 820L).
- The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)740L
- Shares themes of found family, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and a close reading level (740L vs 820L).
- American Born Chinese530L
- Shares themes of coming of age and identity and overlapping grades (7–12).
- I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)830L
- Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (830L vs 820L).
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond850L
- Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (850L vs 820L).
- Ender's Game780L
- Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (780L vs 820L).
- Rebound780L
- Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (780L vs 820L).
- The House on Mango Street870L
- Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (870L vs 820L).
- To Kill a Mockingbird870L
- Shares themes of coming of age and a close reading level (870L vs 820L).