What books are similar to Ursula Upside Down?

The 10 closest matches to Ursula Upside Down by Corey R. Tabor on ReadingList include Millie Fleur's Poison Garden, Time to Make Art, Don't Think of Tigers, Because of You, John Lewis, and Buffalo Fluffalo. Each is scored on shared themes (identity, confidence, and imagination), 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 Ursula Upside Down 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 Ursula Upside Down

If you liked Ursula Upside Down, read Millie Fleur's Poison Garden, Time to Make Art, or Don't Think of Tigers — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Ursula Upside Down by Corey R. Tabor (Picture Book · grades K–3)? It’s most often read for its themes of identity, confidence, and imagination. 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 identity and imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Time to Make Artgrades K–3: Shares themes of identity and imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
Don't Think of Tigersgrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon →
Because of You, John Lewisgrades 3–5: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
Buffalo Fluffalogrades K–2: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). 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 →
I Lived Inside a Whalegrades K–3: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →
No Cats in the Librarygrades K–2: Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →
You're So Amazing!grades K–2: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon →

Books like Ursula Upside Down for younger readers (K–2)

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

Yuna's Cardboard Castles by Marie Tang · grades K–2 — Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2).
Corduroy by Don Freeman · 600L — Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Gibberish by Young Vo · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, 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 Ursula Upside Down for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Corduroy by Don Freeman · 600L — Shares themes of imagination, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Gibberish by Young Vo · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, 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).
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.

Books like Ursula Upside Down for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
You Are Here: Connecting Flights by Ellen Oh · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of identity, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.

Books like Ursula Upside Down for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of identity and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.

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

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