What books are similar to The Thief Lord?

The 10 closest matches to The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke on ReadingList include Because of Winn-Dixie, The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1), The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Tale of Despereaux, and There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 Thief Lord 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 Thief Lord

If you liked The Thief Lord, read Because of Winn-Dixie, The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1), or The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke? 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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Because of Winn-Dixie610L: Both on the Massachusetts Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2000s). Amazon →
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)740L: Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2000s). Amazon →
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulanegrades 3–6: Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2000s). Amazon →
The Tale of Despereaux670L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2000s). Amazon →
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroomgrades 4–6: Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2000s). Amazon →
Bud, Not Buddy950L: Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
El Deafo420L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6: Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Frindle830L: Both on the Massachusetts Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone880L: Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →

Books like The Thief Lord for younger readers (K–2)

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

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (2–5).
Adopted by an Owl by Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2000s).
Arnie, the Doughnut by Laurie Keller · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2000s).
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2000s).
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2000s).

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

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

Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Both on the Massachusetts Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–8).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–9).
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–6).

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

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

Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Both on the Massachusetts Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
New Kid by Jerry Craft · grades 4–8 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–8).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–9).

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

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

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–9).
Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2000s).
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli · grades 6–9 — Both on the Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona) — formerly the Arizona Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2000s).
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie · 600L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) list and the same era (2000s).

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

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