What books are similar to The Spring Rider?

The 10 closest matches to The Spring Rider by John Shults Lawson on ReadingList include A Racecourse for Andy, The Adventures of Paddy Pork, "Let's Get a Pup!", Said Kate, A Chair for My Mother, and A Ray of Light. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Spring Rider reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–9), 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 Spring Rider

If you liked The Spring Rider, read A Racecourse for Andy, The Adventures of Paddy Pork, or "Let's Get a Pup!", Said Kate — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Spring Rider by John Shults Lawson (Children's · grades 4–9)? 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 4–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

Reading the whole similar-books list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Why each is a match

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A Racecourse for Andygrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Adventures of Paddy Porkgrades K–5: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
"Let's Get a Pup!", Said Kategrades K–5: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
A Chair for My Mothergrades K–5: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
A Ray of Lightgrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
A Scar like a Rivergrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
A Sitting in St. Jamesgrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
A Visit to William Blake's Inngrades K–5: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
A Wizard of Earthseagrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
A World Without Summergrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Spring Rider for younger readers (K–2)

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

And If the Moon Could Talk by Kate Banks · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
Anno's Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
Anno's Medieval World by Mitsumasa Anno · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
At Night by Jonathan Bean · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
Big Mama Makes the World by Phyllis Root · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).

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

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

Abigail Adams by Natalie S. Bober · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Ajeemah and His Son by James Berry · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
An American Plague by Jim Murphy · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
And If the Moon Could Talk by Kate Banks · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
Anno's Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno · grades K–5 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).

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

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

Abigail Adams by Natalie S. Bober · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Ajeemah and His Son by James Berry · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
An American Plague by Jim Murphy · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Anthony Burns by Virginia Hamilton · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Behind Barbed Wire by Daniel S. Davis · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

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

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

Abigail Adams by Natalie S. Bober · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Ajeemah and His Son by James Berry · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
An American Plague by Jim Murphy · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Anthony Burns by Virginia Hamilton · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Behind Barbed Wire by Daniel S. Davis · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

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

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