What books are similar to The Penderwicks?

The 10 closest matches to The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall on ReadingList include Brown Girl Dreaming, El Deafo, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Fish in a Tree, and Ghost. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Penderwicks reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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 Penderwicks

If you liked The Penderwicks, read Brown Girl Dreaming, El Deafo, 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 Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall? 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 4–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Brown Girl Dreaming990L: Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
El Deafo420L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Fish in a Tree550L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost730L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
New Kidgrades 4–8: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Out of My Mind700L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Superfudgegrades 3–6: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
The One and Only Ivan570L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Wonder790L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

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

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

Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
My Explosive Diary by Emily Gale · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).

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

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

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick · grades 4–7 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass · grades 5–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–8).
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling · 880L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Rules by Cynthia Lord · grades 4–7 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 3–7 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7).

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

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

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick · grades 4–7 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass · grades 5–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–8).
Ground Zero by Alan Gratz · grades 6–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (6–8).
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling · 880L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Rules by Cynthia Lord · grades 4–7 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).

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

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

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie · 600L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (7–10).
1919 The Year That Changed America by Martin W. Sandler · grades 7–12 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list, overlapping grades (7–12), and the same era (2010s).
Allies by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman · grades 9–12 — Both on the National Book Award for Young People's Literature list and the same era (2010s).
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Penderwicks?: The 10 closest matches to The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall on ReadingList include Brown Girl Dreaming, El Deafo, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Fish in a Tree, and Ghost. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Penderwicks reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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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