What books are similar to Wonderstruck?

The 10 closest matches to Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick on ReadingList include The Invention of Hugo Cabret, A Dog Called Homeless, A Night Divided, El Deafo, and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Wonderstruck reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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 Wonderstruck

If you liked Wonderstruck, read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, A Dog Called Homeless, or A Night Divided — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Looking for books like Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick? 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 4–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Invention of Hugo Cabretgrades 3–7: Is by Brian Selznick, the same author, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
A Dog Called Homelessgrades 3–6: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Night Dividedgrades 5–8: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
El Deafo420L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Fish in a Tree550L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Front Desk640L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost730L: Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
New Kidgrades 4–8: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Other Words for Home930L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Wonderstruck for younger readers (K–2)

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

A Green Place to be by Ashley Benham Yazdani · grades K–5 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (K–5), and the same era (2010s).
Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems · grades K–2 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet · grades 1–4 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (1–4), and the same era (2010s).
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Kate DiCamillo · grades K–2 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list and the same era (2010s).

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

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

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson · 440L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden · grades 3–5 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Superfudge by Judy Blume · grades 3–6 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).

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

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

Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Pax by Sara Pennypacker · 760L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson · 440L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
Superfudge by Judy Blume · grades 3–6 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).

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

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

Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt · grades 6–9 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie · 600L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (7–10).
A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Gold) by Natalie Lloyd · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Wonderstruck?: The 10 closest matches to Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick on ReadingList include The Invention of Hugo Cabret, A Dog Called Homeless, A Night Divided, El Deafo, and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Wonderstruck reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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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