What books are similar to The Old Willis Place?

The 10 closest matches to The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn on ReadingList include Wait Till Helen Comes, Deep and Dark and Dangerous, Odder, The Terrible Two, and 11 Birthdays. 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 Old Willis Place 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.

Books like The Old Willis Place

If you liked The Old Willis Place, read Wait Till Helen Comes, Deep and Dark and Dangerous, or Odder — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn? 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.

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Why each is a match

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Wait Till Helen Comesgrades 4–7: Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Deep and Dark and Dangerousgrades 4–6: Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Oddergrades 3–5: Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
The Terrible Twogrades 3–5: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Mr. Teruptgrades 3–5: Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Winn-Dixie610L: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+4 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Bud, Not Buddy950L: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Bunniculagrades 3–6: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Old Willis Place for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–7 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
El Deafo by Cece Bell · 420L — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine · grades 4–7 — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like The Old Willis Place for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–7 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7).
Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Is by Mary Downing Hahn, the same author, both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
El Deafo by Cece Bell · 420L — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine · grades 4–7 — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like The Old Willis Place for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (5–9).
Scythe by Neal Shusterman · grades 7–12 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list).
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · 810L — Both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen · grades 7–12 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Old Willis Place?: The 10 closest matches to The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn on ReadingList include Wait Till Helen Comes, Deep and Dark and Dangerous, Odder, The Terrible Two, and 11 Birthdays. 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 Old Willis Place 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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