Books like The Lion of Mars

If you liked The Lion of Mars, read Full of Beans, Sunny Side Up, or Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm? 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Lion of Mars

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Why each is a match

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Full of Beansgrades 4–7
Is by Jennifer L. Holm, the same author and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Sunny Side Upgrades 3–6
Is by Jennifer L. Holm, the same author and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Restart730L
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Hunger Games810L
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
The War That Saved My Life580L
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5
Both on the Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) list and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
12 Againgrades 6–8
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Dog Called Homelessgrades 3–6
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
A Fine, Fine Schoolgrades K–3
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Lion of Mars for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list).
  • Scythe by Neal Shusterman · grades 7–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list).
  • The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Lion of Mars?
The 10 closest matches to The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm on ReadingList include Full of Beans, Sunny Side Up, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Restart, and The Hunger Games. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Lion of Mars reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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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