Books like The Labors of Hercules Beal

If you liked The Labors of Hercules Beal, read Between Two Brothers, Out of My Mind, or Wonder — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 3–7)? It’s most often read for its themes of grief, mythology, and family. 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.

10 books similar to The Labors of Hercules Beal

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Why each is a match

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Between Two Brothersgrades 4–8
Shares themes of grief and family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Out of My Mind700L
Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Wonder790L
Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Jawbreakergrades 3–7
Shares themes of family, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Old Yellergrades 5–8
Shares themes of grief and family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Firefly Summergrades 3–7
Shares themes of family, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
When Sea Becomes Skygrades 3–6
Shares themes of family, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Blended610L
Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L
Shares themes of family, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Four Eyes: A Graphic Novelgrades 3–7
Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Labors of Hercules Beal for younger readers (K–2)

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

  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
  • Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of grief and family and overlapping grades (K–3).
  • Night in the City by Julie Downing · grades K–2 — Shares themes of family and community.
  • Picture Purrfect (Bodega Cats #1) by Hilda Eunice Burgos · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of family and community and overlapping grades (2–5).
  • The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like The Labors of Hercules Beal for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
  • The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
  • The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
  • Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech · 770L — Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and overlapping grades (5–7).
  • When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–8).

Books like The Labors of Hercules Beal for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and overlapping grades (7–12).
  • Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow · grades 6–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8).
  • The Crossover by Kwame Alexander · 750L — Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8).
  • The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Shares themes of family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
  • Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech · 770L — Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and overlapping grades (5–7).

Books like The Labors of Hercules Beal for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Shares themes of grief and family, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and overlapping grades (7–12).
  • Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Is by Gary D. Schmidt, the same author, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and overlapping grades (7–10).
  • Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of grief and family and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (7–12).
  • Four for the Road by K.J. Reilly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of grief.

Common questions

What books are similar to The Labors of Hercules Beal?
The 10 closest matches to The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt on ReadingList include Between Two Brothers, Out of My Mind, Wonder, Jawbreaker, and Old Yeller. Each is scored on shared themes (grief, mythology, and family), 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 Labors of Hercules Beal 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.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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