Books like The Way I Say It

If you liked The Way I Say It, read A Rover's Story, A Work in Progress, or Frizzy — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like The Way I Say It by Nancy Tandon? 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 4–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Way I Say It

Reading the whole similar-books list? 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 Rover's Storygrades 4–5
Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
A Work in Progressgrades 4–8
Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
Frizzygrades 4–5
Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
Hoopsgrades 3–5
Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
Little Monarchsgrades 4–5
Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
Nic Blake and the Remarkablesgrades 4–5
Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
Parachute Kidsgrades 3–7
Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddlegrades 4–5
Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
To Catch a Thiefgrades 4–5
Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon →
¡Vamos! Let's Go Eatgrades 2–8
Overlapping grades (2–8) and the same era (2020s). Amazon →

Books like The Way I Say It for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Farther Than the Moon by Lindsay Lackey · grades 6–8 — Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list and the same era (2020s).
  • Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list and the same era (2020s).
  • Hands by Torrey Maldonado · grades 6–8 — Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list and the same era (2020s).
  • Mexikid by Pedro Martín · grades 6–8 — Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list and the same era (2020s).
  • Not an Easy Win by Chrystal Giles · grades 6–8 — Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list and the same era (2020s).

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

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