What books are similar to Two Degrees?

The 10 closest matches to Two Degrees by Alan Gratz on ReadingList include Touching Spirit Bear, The River, Hatchet, Stormbreaker, and Code Name Kingfisher. Each is scored on shared themes (climate, survival, and courage), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Two Degrees reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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 Two Degrees

If you liked Two Degrees, read Touching Spirit Bear, The River, or Hatchet — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Two Degrees by Alan Gratz (Adventure · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of climate, survival, and courage. 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Touching Spirit Beargrades 6–9: Shares themes of survival and courage, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon →
The Rivergrades 5–8: Shares themes of survival and courage, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →
Hatchet1020L: Shares themes of survival, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and same genre (Adventure). Amazon →
Stormbreakergrades 5–8: Shares themes of courage, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and same genre (Adventure). Amazon →
Code Name Kingfishergrades 4–8: Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Iceberggrades 3–7: Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
Sky's Endgrades 7–12: Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon →
The Hunger Games810L: Shares themes of survival, both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon →
The Tale of Despereaux670L: Shares themes of courage, both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Cryptid Huntersgrades 5–8: Shares themes of survival, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →

Books like Two Degrees for younger readers (K–2)

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

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (2–5).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (2–5).
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage and overlapping grades (2–5).
Just Like Millie by Lauren Castillo · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage.
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage.

Books like Two Degrees for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis · 590L — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (2–5).
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (5–8).
Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of survival, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (3–8).
The Cay by Theodore Taylor · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Last Musketeer by Stuart Gibbs · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Two Degrees for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (5–8).
Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of survival, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (3–8).
The Call of the Wild by Jack London · 1120L — Shares themes of survival, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (6–10).
The Cay by Theodore Taylor · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (5–8).
The Last Musketeer by Stuart Gibbs · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (4–7).

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

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

The Call of the Wild by Jack London · 1120L — Shares themes of survival, same genre (Adventure), and overlapping grades (6–10).
Allies by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).
Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of courage, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (6–9).
Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of survival, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (5–9).

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

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