What books are similar to When Sea Becomes Sky?

The 10 closest matches to When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn on ReadingList include Countdown to Yesterday, Jawbreaker, Rascal, Summer of the Monkeys, and The Firefly Summer. Each is scored on shared themes (family, nature, and art), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like When Sea Becomes Sky reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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 When Sea Becomes Sky

If you liked When Sea Becomes Sky, read Countdown to Yesterday, Jawbreaker, or Rascal — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, nature, and art. 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Countdown to Yesterdaygrades 3–6: Shares themes of family and change, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon →
Jawbreakergrades 3–7: Shares themes of family, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Rascalgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family and nature, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon →
Summer of the Monkeysgrades 4–7: Shares themes of family and nature, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
The Firefly Summergrades 3–7: Shares themes of family, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
The Labors of Hercules Bealgrades 3–7: Shares themes of family, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
The Wild Robot740L: Shares themes of family and nature, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
Between Two Brothersgrades 4–8: Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Boy 2.0grades 4–8: Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Dadaji's Paintbrushgrades K–3: Shares themes of family and art and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon →

Books like When Sea Becomes Sky for younger readers (K–2)

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

The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1) by Mary Pope Osborne · 510L — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (1–4).
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (2–8).
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–4).
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like When Sea Becomes Sky for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Hope in the Valley by Mitali Perkins · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family and change and overlapping grades (3–6).
Just Keep Walking by Erin Soderberg Downing · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of nature, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Operation Final Notice by Matthew Landis · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Puzzleheart by Jenn Reese · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like When Sea Becomes Sky for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Hope in the Valley by Mitali Perkins · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family and change and overlapping grades (3–6).
Just Keep Walking by Erin Soderberg Downing · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of nature, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Operation Final Notice by Matthew Landis · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Puzzleheart by Jenn Reese · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like When Sea Becomes Sky for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The Pearl by John Steinbeck · 1010L — Shares themes of family and nature and overlapping grades (6–9).
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family.
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of family.
Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of family.

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

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