Books like The Raft

If you liked The Raft, read Mercy Watson to the Rescue, A Boy Called Bat, or Athlete vs. Mathlete — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Raft by Jim LaMarche (Sports Fiction · grades 2–3)? It’s most often read for its themes of grandmothers, rafting (sports), and rivers. 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 2–3 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Raft

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Why each is a match

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Mercy Watson to the Rescue450L
Shares themes of animals, both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list, and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
A Boy Called Batgrades 3–5
Shares themes of animals and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Athlete vs. Mathletegrades 3–5
Same genre (Sports Fiction) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Bink & Golliegrades 2–8
Same genre (Sports Fiction) and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Butt or Face?grades K–2
Shares themes of animals and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon → books like this →
Mei Ligrades K–3
Shares themes of animals and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arcticgrades 3–6
Shares themes of animals and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Nimbusgrades 3–6
Shares themes of animals and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
No More Water in the Tubgrades K–3
Same genre (Sports Fiction) and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Picture Purrfect (Bodega Cats #1)grades 2–5
Shares themes of animals and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →

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

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

  • Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold · grades K–1 — Shares themes of animals and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
  • Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman · grades K–1 — Shares themes of animals and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
  • Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire · grades K–1 — Shares themes of animals and both on the Common Core State Standards (ELA) list.
  • The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of animals and overlapping grades (2–5).
  • Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema · grades K–3 — Shares themes of animals and overlapping grades (K–3).

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

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

  • Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica · grades 5–8 — Same genre (Sports Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
  • The Million Dollar Kick by Dan Gutman · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Sports Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
  • Game Changer by Tommy Greenwald · grades 5–8 — Same genre (Sports Fiction).
  • Old Yeller by Fred Gipson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of animals.
  • Rascal by Sterling North · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of animals.

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

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

  • Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica · grades 5–8 — Same genre (Sports Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
  • The Million Dollar Kick by Dan Gutman · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Sports Fiction) and the same era (2000s).
  • Game Changer by Tommy Greenwald · grades 5–8 — Same genre (Sports Fiction).
  • Old Yeller by Fred Gipson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of animals.
  • Rascal by Sterling North · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of animals.

Common questions

What books are similar to The Raft?
The 10 closest matches to The Raft by Jim LaMarche on ReadingList include Mercy Watson to the Rescue, A Boy Called Bat, Athlete vs. Mathlete, Bink & Gollie, and Butt or Face?. Each is scored on shared themes (grandmothers, rafting (sports), and rivers), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–3), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Raft reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–3), 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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