What books are similar to Time to Make Art?

The 10 closest matches to Time to Make Art by Jeff Mack on ReadingList include Millie Fleur's Poison Garden, Because of You, John Lewis, Ursula Upside Down, I Lived Inside a Whale, and Buffalo Fluffalo. Each is scored on shared themes (imagination, identity, and history), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades K–3), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Time to Make Art reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades K–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.

Books like Time to Make Art

If you liked Time to Make Art, read Millie Fleur's Poison Garden, Because of You, John Lewis, or Ursula Upside Down — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Time to Make Art by Jeff Mack (Picture Book · grades K–3)? It’s most often read for its themes of imagination, identity, and history. 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 K–3 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Millie Fleur's Poison Gardengrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination and identity, both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon →
Because of You, John Lewisgrades 3–5: Shares themes of identity and history, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
Ursula Upside Downgrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination and identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
I Lived Inside a Whalegrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination, both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon →
Buffalo Fluffalogrades K–2: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →
Don't Think of Tigersgrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaustgrades 2–5: Shares themes of history, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon →
How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guidegrades K–2: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →
How This Book Got Redgrades K–2: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →
No Cats in the Librarygrades K–2: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →

Books like Time to Make Art for younger readers (K–2)

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

You're So Amazing! by James Catchpole · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2).
Yuna's Cardboard Castles by Marie Tang · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2).
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Corduroy by Don Freeman · 600L — Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff · 410L — Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like Time to Make Art for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of identity and history.
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list.
Corduroy by Don Freeman · 600L — Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff · 410L — Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like Time to Make Art for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of identity and history.
A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Colorado Children's Book Award list.
A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen by Erin Frankel · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Picture Book), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2020s).
A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity and overlapping grades (3–6).
Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Art by Hannah Salyer · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of history.

Books like Time to Make Art for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard by Ronald Wimberly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and history.
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of identity.
Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity.
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of identity.
Murder Among Friends by Candace Fleming · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of history.

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

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