What books are similar to City Spies?

The 10 closest matches to City Spies by James Ponti on ReadingList include The Sherlock Society, Framed!, Invisible, Shiloh, and Allergic. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like City Spies reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–6), 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 City Spies

If you liked City Spies, read The Sherlock Society, Framed!, or Invisible — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

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Looking for books like City Spies by James Ponti (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–6)? 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 4–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Sherlock Societygrades 4–8: Is by James Ponti, the same author, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Framed!grades 3–8: Is by James Ponti, the same author, both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Invisiblegrades 4–6: Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+2 more shared lists), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Shiloh890L: Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Allergicgrades 4–6: Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
The Strange Case of Origami Yodagrades 4–6: Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Terrible Twogrades 3–5: Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
No Talkinggrades 3–8: Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Front Desk640L: Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+2 more shared lists), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Frizzygrades 4–5: Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like City Spies for younger readers (K–2)

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

Chester by Mélanie Watt · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" by David LaRochelle · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
Norman Didn't Do It! by Ryan T. Higgins · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
The Barnabus Project by Terry Fan · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
There's a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).

Books like City Spies for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Odder by Katherine Applegate · grades 3–5 — Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2020s).
Twins by Varian Johnson · grades 4–6 — Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2020s).
Four Eyes by Rex Ogle · grades 4–6 — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Haven: A Small Cat's Big Adventure by Megan Wagner Lloyd · grades 4–6 — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like City Spies for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Twins by Varian Johnson · grades 4–6 — Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2020s).
Four Eyes by Rex Ogle · grades 4–6 — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Haven: A Small Cat's Big Adventure by Megan Wagner Lloyd · grades 4–6 — Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
City of Thieves by Alex London · grades 3–8 — Both on the Nevada Young Readers' Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).

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

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

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2020s).
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).

Common questions

What books are similar to City Spies?: The 10 closest matches to City Spies by James Ponti on ReadingList include The Sherlock Society, Framed!, Invisible, Shiloh, and Allergic. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like City Spies reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–6), 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.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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