What books are similar to The Pinballs?

The 10 closest matches to The Pinballs by Betsy Cromer Byars on ReadingList include Eight Keys, Shoeshine Girl, Blubber, A Boy Named Queen, and All the Money in the World. Each is scored on shared themes (foster home care, friendship, and friendship in fiction), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Pinballs reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–6), 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 Pinballs

If you liked The Pinballs, read Eight Keys, Shoeshine Girl, or Blubber — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Pinballs by Betsy Cromer Byars (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of foster home care, friendship, and friendship in fiction. 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 4–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Eight Keysgrades 4–6: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Shoeshine Girlgrades 4–6: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
Blubbergrades 4–7: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
A Boy Named Queengrades 3–8: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
All the Money in the Worldgrades 4–6: Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Dogtowngrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life890L: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Fourth Grade Ratsgrades 4–6: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Hoot760L: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It Allgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →

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

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

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel · 350L — Shares themes of friendship.
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel · 330L — Shares themes of friendship.
¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raúl the Third III · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and overlapping grades (2–8).
A Lot to Like! by Derek Anderson · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (2–5).

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

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

Rules by Cynthia Lord · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks · 780L — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Stepping Up by Mark Fink · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).

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

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

Posted by John David Anderson · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
Rules by Cynthia Lord · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks · 780L — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Stepping Up by Mark Fink · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).

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

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

Posted by John David Anderson · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of friendship and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Drama by Raina Telgemeier · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of friendship and overlapping grades (5–9).
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and overlapping grades (6–9).
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes · 910L — Shares themes of friendship.

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

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