Books like A Lot to Like!

If you liked A Lot to Like!, read Fox Has a Problem, The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, or Dog Man — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Fox Has a Problem by Corey R. Tabor — shares humor and friendship

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Looking for books like A Lot to Like! by Derek Anderson (Early Reader · grades 2–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of humor and friendship. 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 2–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to A Lot to Like!

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Why each is a match

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Fox Has a Problemgrades 2–5
Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Early Reader). Amazon → books like this →
The First Cat in Space Ate Pizzagrades 2–5
Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
Dog Man390L
Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
Amelia Bedelia380L
Shares themes of humor, same genre (Early Reader), and overlapping grades (1–3). Amazon → books like this →
Max and the Midknightsgrades 3–6
Shares themes of humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Frog and Toad Together330L
Shares themes of humor and friendship, same genre (Early Reader), and overlapping grades (1–2). Amazon → books like this →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L
Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself500L
Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Frog and Toad Are Friends350L
Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Early Reader), and overlapping grades (1–2). Amazon → books like this →
A Royal Conundrumgrades 3–6
Shares themes of humor and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like A Lot to Like! for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective by Janet Tashjian · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • J vs. K by Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and overlapping grades (3–5).
  • Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Scare School Diaries: Welcome to Scare School by Jarrett Lerner · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like A Lot to Like! for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list.
  • Confessions of a Class Clown by Arianne Costner · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of humor and friendship.
  • Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective by Janet Tashjian · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6).

Common questions

What books are similar to A Lot to Like!?
The 10 closest matches to A Lot to Like! by Derek Anderson on ReadingList include Fox Has a Problem, The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, Dog Man, Amelia Bedelia, and Max and the Midknights. Each is scored on shared themes (humor and friendship), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like A Lot to Like! reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–5), 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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