Books like Belly Up
If you liked Belly Up, read The Last Musketeer, El Deafo, or Out of My Mind — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.
Closest match: The Last Musketeer by Stuart Gibbs
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Looking for books like Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs? 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 3–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to Belly Up
The Last MusketeerStuart Gibbs
El DeafoCece Bell · 420L
Out of My MindSharon M. Draper · 700L
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)Rick Riordan · 740L
Because of Mr. TeruptRob Buyea
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's LibraryChris Grabenstein
White BirdR.J. Palacio
WishBarbara O'Connor
Aliens Are Coming!Megan McCarthy
AwkwardSvetlana Chmakova
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Why each is a match
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- The Last Musketeergrades 4–7
- Is by Stuart Gibbs, the same author, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- El Deafo420L
- Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- Out of My Mind700L
- Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)740L
- Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
- Because of Mr. Teruptgrades 3–5
- Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6
- Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- White Birdgrades 4–6
- Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- Wishgrades 3–5
- Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- Aliens Are Coming!grades 3–6
- Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
- Awkwardgrades 3–5
- Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Books like Belly Up for middle school (grades 6–8)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.
- Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
- Matched by Ally Condie · grades 6–8 — Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
- Breathing Room by Marsha Hayles · grades 6–8 — Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
- One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt · grades 6–8 — Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
- Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 6–8 — Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
Common questions
- What books are similar to Belly Up?
- The 10 closest matches to Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs on ReadingList include The Last Musketeer, El Deafo, Out of My Mind, The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1), and Because of Mr. Terupt. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
- Are books like Belly Up reading-level appropriate?
- Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–5), 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.