What books are similar to The Invention of Hugo Cabret?

The 10 closest matches to The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick on ReadingList include A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Finding Winnie: The Story of the Real Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh, Flotsam, Hello Lighthouse, and Locomotive. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Invention of Hugo Cabret reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–7), 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 Invention of Hugo Cabret

If you liked The Invention of Hugo Cabret, read A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Finding Winnie: The Story of the Real Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh, or Flotsam — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Picture Book · grades 3–7)? 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 3–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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A Sick Day for Amos McGeegrades K–3: Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Finding Winnie: The Story of the Real Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Poohgrades 1–4: Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (1–4). Amazon →
Flotsamgrades K–4: Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–4). Amazon →
Hello Lighthousegrades K–3: Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Locomotivegrades 2–6: Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (2–6). Amazon →
Radiant Childgrades 2–5: Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon →
The Adventures of Beeklegrades K–3: Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Wolf in the Snowgrades K–3: Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Biggrades K–3: Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself500L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon →

Books like The Invention of Hugo Cabret for younger readers (K–2)

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

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka · grades K–2 — Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and the same era (2010s).
Kitten's First Full Moon Board Book by Kevin Henkes · grades K–2 — Both on the Caldecott Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and the same era (2010s).
Blue by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond · grades K–4 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–4).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (2–5), and the same era (2010s).
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer · grades 2–5 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like The Invention of Hugo Cabret for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Blue by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond · grades K–4 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–4).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (2–5), and the same era (2010s).
Duke by Kirby Larson · grades 3–5 — Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award (ICCA) list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Front Desk by Kelly Yang · 640L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Invention of Hugo Cabret for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Front Desk by Kelly Yang · 640L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s).
Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume · grades 3–6 — Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award (ICCA) list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Max and the Midknights by Lincoln Peirce · grades 3–6 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park · grades 5–8 — Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award (ICCA) list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Invention of Hugo Cabret for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Legend by Marie Lu · grades 6–9 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s).
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Both on the North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson · grades 7–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s).
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman · grades 7–10 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list, overlapping grades (7–10), and the same era (2010s).

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

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