What books are similar to Torpedoed?

The 10 closest matches to Torpedoed by Deborah Heiligman on ReadingList include Vincent and Theo, Abigail Adams, Absolutely Positively Not, Al Capone Does My Shirts, and Amelia Lost. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Torpedoed reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–12), 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 Torpedoed

If you liked Torpedoed, read Vincent and Theo, Abigail Adams, or Absolutely Positively Not — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Torpedoed by Deborah Heiligman (Children's · grades 6–12)? 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 6–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Vincent and Theogrades 4–10: Is by Deborah Heiligman, the same author, both on the Golden Kite Award list, and same genre (Children's). Amazon → books like this →
Abigail Adamsgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Absolutely Positively Notgrades 3–8: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Al Capone Does My Shirtsgrades 3–8: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Amelia Lostgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Arthur, For the Very First Timegrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Better Nate Than Evergrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Between Shades Of Graygrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Black Potatoesgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Boots on the Groundgrades 6–12: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (6–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Torpedoed for younger readers (K–2)

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

A Band of Angels by Deborah Hopkinson · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
A Dance Like Starlight by Kristy Dempsey · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
A Green Place to be by Ashley Benham Yazdani · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Torpedoed for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

A Band of Angels by Deborah Hopkinson · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
A Dance Like Starlight by Kristy Dempsey · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
A Green Place to be by Ashley Benham Yazdani · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Torpedoed for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Borrowed Children by George Lyon · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Call of the Klondike by David Meissner · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Down Sand Mountain by Steve Watkins · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen · grades 3–8 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like Torpedoed for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Borrowed Children by George Lyon · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Call of the Klondike by David Meissner · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Down Sand Mountain by Steve Watkins · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
Little Little by M. E. Kerr · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to Torpedoed?: The 10 closest matches to Torpedoed by Deborah Heiligman on ReadingList include Vincent and Theo, Abigail Adams, Absolutely Positively Not, Al Capone Does My Shirts, and Amelia Lost. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Torpedoed reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–12), 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.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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