What books are similar to The Great Pet Escape?

The 10 closest matches to The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson on ReadingList include Real Friends, Dear Mrs. LaRue, Drama, My Horrible Secret, and No More Dead Dogs. Each is scored on shared themes (schools, escapes, and humorous stories), 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 Great Pet Escape 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 Great Pet Escape

If you liked The Great Pet Escape, read Real Friends, Dear Mrs. LaRue, or Drama — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson (Graphic Novel · grades 3–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of schools, escapes, and humorous stories. 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.

Reading the whole similar-books list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audible30-day trial

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Why each is a match

Amazon links below are affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Real Friendsgrades 2–8: Shares themes of schools, same genre (Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →
Dear Mrs. LaRuegrades 3–5: Shares themes of humorous stories and pets and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
Dramagrades 5–9: Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, same genre (Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon →
My Horrible Secretgrades 4–6: Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
No More Dead Dogsgrades 2–8: Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →
The Dunderheadsgrades 3–5: Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
The Perfect Scoregrades 3–8: Shares themes of schools, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
The Sixth Grade Nickname Gamegrades 4–6: Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Peter and the Starcatchersgrades 3–8: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
Word Eatergrades 3–8: Shares themes of schools, both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →

Books like The Great Pet Escape for younger readers (K–2)

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

Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
Arnie, the Doughnut by Laurie Keller · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
Bone by Jeff Smith · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Graphic Novel) and overlapping grades (2–8).
Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).

Books like The Great Pet Escape for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova · grades 3–5 — Same genre (Graphic Novel), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
Dog Man Unleashed by Dav Pilkey · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Graphic Novel), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Eight Keys by Suzanne M. LaFleur · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools and overlapping grades (4–6).
Giants Beware by Jorge Aguirre · grades 3–5 — Same genre (Graphic Novel), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Great Pet Escape for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
Dog Man Unleashed by Dav Pilkey · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Graphic Novel), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Eight Keys by Suzanne M. LaFleur · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools and overlapping grades (4–6).
The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Graphic Novel), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).

Books like The Great Pet Escape for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s).
Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard by Ronald Wimberly · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Graphic Novel).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (7–10), and the same era (2010s).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).

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

← Back to The Great Pet Escape