What books are similar to The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman?

The 10 closest matches to The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko on ReadingList include Forged by Fire, Front Desk, Hope in the Valley, In the Beautiful Country, and Ruby Lost and Found. Each is scored on shared themes (family, resilience, and hope), 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 Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman 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 Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman

If you liked The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman, read Forged by Fire, Front Desk, or Hope in the Valley — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko (Realistic Fiction · grades 6–9)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, resilience, and hope. 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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Forged by Firegrades 7–10: Shares themes of family and resilience, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10). Amazon →
Front Desk640L: Shares themes of family and resilience, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Hope in the Valleygrades 3–6: Shares themes of family, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
In the Beautiful Countrygrades 3–6: Shares themes of family and resilience, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Ruby Lost and Foundgrades 6–9: Shares themes of family, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrisegrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon →
The War That Saved My Life580L: Shares themes of family and resilience, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Between Two Brothersgrades 4–8: Shares themes of family and hope and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Ferrisgrades 3–6: Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Invisible Isabelgrades 3–6: Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →

Books like The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman for younger readers (K–2)

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

Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Shares themes of family and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raúl the Third III · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2020s).
How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide by Ame Dyckman · grades K–2 — Shares themes of family.
Night in the City by Julie Downing · grades K–2 — Shares themes of family.

Books like The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of family and resilience and overlapping grades (3–7).
Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Stuntboy, In-Between Time by Jason Reynolds · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family and hope and overlapping grades (5–8).

Books like The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of family and resilience and overlapping grades (3–7).
Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Stuntboy, In-Between Time by Jason Reynolds · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family and hope and overlapping grades (5–8).

Books like The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9).
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou · 1070L — Shares themes of family and resilience.
Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of family, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (9–12).
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
The Color Purple by Alice Walker · 670L — Shares themes of family and resilience and overlapping grades (9–12).

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

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