What books are similar to Amari and the Night Brothers?

The 10 closest matches to Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston on ReadingList include The Sword of Summer, The Wishing Spell, The Forbidden Library, Keeper of the Lost Cities, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Each is scored on shared themes (magic, family, and courage), 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 Amari and the Night Brothers 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 Amari and the Night Brothers

If you liked Amari and the Night Brothers, read The Sword of Summer, The Wishing Spell, or The Forbidden Library — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan — shares magic

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Looking for books like Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston (Fantasy · grades 4–7)? It’s most often read for its themes of magic, family, 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 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 Sword of Summergrades 3–8: Shares themes of magic, both on the Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware Library Association, Youth Services Division) — Middle Readers division list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
The Wishing Spellgrades 3–8: Shares themes of magic, both on the Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware Library Association, Youth Services Division) — Middle Readers division list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
The Forbidden Librarygrades 2–8: Shares themes of magic, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Keeper of the Lost Citiesgrades 4–8: Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulanegrades 3–6: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Shiloh890L: Shares themes of family and courage, both on the North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Witching Windgrades 3–6: Shares themes of magic, family, and courage and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Mary Poppinsgrades 4–6: Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Peter and the Starcatchersgrades 3–8: Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Headless Cupidgrades 4–8: Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Amari and the Night Brothers for younger readers (K–2)

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

Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of magic and courage, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan · grades 2–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (2–8).
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin · grades K–3 — Same genre (Fantasy).
Enchanted Wood by Ruth Sanderson · grades K–3 — Same genre (Fantasy).
Eyes of the Dragon by Margaret Leaf · grades K–3 — Same genre (Fantasy).

Books like Amari and the Night Brothers for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Lifters by Dave Eggers · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Word Eater by Mary Amato · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling · 880L — Shares themes of courage, both on the Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware Library Association, Youth Services Division) — Middle Readers division list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo · 670L — Shares themes of courage, both on the Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware Library Association, Youth Services Division) — Middle Readers division list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family and courage, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Amari and the Night Brothers for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Lifters by Dave Eggers · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Word Eater by Mary Amato · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling · 880L — Shares themes of courage, both on the Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware Library Association, Youth Services Division) — Middle Readers division list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo · 670L — Shares themes of courage, both on the Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware Library Association, Youth Services Division) — Middle Readers division list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of family and courage, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Amari and the Night Brothers for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of courage and same genre (Fantasy).
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Shares themes of courage and both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list).
Lore by Alexandra Bracken · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Fantasy) and the same era (2020s).
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Both on the Volunteer State Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Gold) by Natalie Lloyd · grades 3–10 — Both on the Blue Hen Book Award (Delaware Library Association, Youth Services Division) — Middle Readers division list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–10).

Common questions

What books are similar to Amari and the Night Brothers?: The 10 closest matches to Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston on ReadingList include The Sword of Summer, The Wishing Spell, The Forbidden Library, Keeper of the Lost Cities, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Each is scored on shared themes (magic, family, and courage), 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 Amari and the Night Brothers 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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