What books are similar to The Pearl?

The 10 closest matches to The Pearl by John Steinbeck on ReadingList include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Joy Luck Club, Hatchet, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Brown Girl Dreaming. Each is scored on shared themes (greed, colonial exploitation, and family), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Pearl reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–9), 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 Pearl

If you liked The Pearl, read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Joy Luck Club, or Hatchet — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Pearl by John Steinbeck (Literary Fiction · 1010L · grades 6–9)? It’s most often read for its themes of greed, colonial exploitation, 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 6–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time1090L: Shares themes of family, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (1090L vs 1010L). Amazon →
The Joy Luck Club930L: Shares themes of family, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (930L vs 1010L). Amazon →
Hatchet1020L: Shares themes of nature, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (1020L vs 1010L). Amazon →
Island of the Blue Dolphins1000L: Shares themes of nature, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (1000L vs 1010L). Amazon →
Brown Girl Dreaming990L: Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (990L vs 1010L). Amazon →
Bud, Not Buddy950L: Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (950L vs 1010L). Amazon →
The Secret Life of Bees840L: Shares themes of family, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (840L vs 1010L). Amazon →
The Wild Robot740L: Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
The Color Purple670L: Shares themes of family, same genre (Literary Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon →
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the Worldgrades 2–8: Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →

Books like The Pearl for younger readers (K–2)

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

Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1) by Mary Pope Osborne · 510L — Shares themes of family and nature and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey · 730L — Shares themes of family and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett · 990L — Both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, a close reading level (990L vs 1010L), and the same era (1940s).
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of family and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows · 580L — Shares themes of family and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.

Books like The Pearl for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1) by Mary Pope Osborne · 510L — Shares themes of family and nature and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
Stuart Little by E.B. White · 920L — Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (920L vs 1010L).
Rascal by Sterling North · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (5–8).
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like The Pearl for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Rascal by Sterling North · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (5–8).
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (3–6).
When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like The Pearl for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie · 920L — Shares themes of family, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (920L vs 1010L).
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain · 980L — Both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (980L vs 1010L).
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou · 1070L — Shares themes of family, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and a close reading level (1070L vs 1010L).
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison · 950L — Both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (950L vs 1010L).
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald · 1070L — Both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, same genre (Literary Fiction), and a close reading level (1070L vs 1010L).

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

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