What books are similar to Clayton Byrd Goes Underground?

The 10 closest matches to Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia on ReadingList include The Fourteenth Goldfish, Fig Pudding, Flying Solo, You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye, and Sunny Side Up. Each is scored on shared themes (death, grandparent and child, and bereavement), 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 Clayton Byrd Goes Underground 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.

Books like Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

If you liked Clayton Byrd Goes Underground, read The Fourteenth Goldfish, Fig Pudding, or Flying Solo — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Closest match: The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm — shares grandfathers

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Looking for books like Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of death, grandparent and child, and bereavement. 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.

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Why each is a match

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The Fourteenth Goldfishgrades 4–6: Shares themes of grandfathers, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Fig Puddinggrades 3–5: Shares themes of death, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Flying Sologrades 4–6: Shares themes of death, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbyegrades 4–6: Shares themes of death, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Sunny Side Upgrades 3–6: Shares themes of grandparent and child and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Alligator Suegrades 3–5: Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Dress Codedgrades 3–5: Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
My Dog, My Herogrades 3–5: Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Secrets of My Hollywood Lifegrades 3–5: Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Verdigrades 3–5: Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Clayton Byrd Goes Underground for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Athlete vs. Mathlete by W. C. Mack · grades 3–5 — Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova · grades 3–5 — Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 4–6 — Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus by John Grandits · grades 3–5 — Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).
The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey · grades 3–5 — Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Clayton Byrd Goes Underground for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Blackwater by Eve Bunting · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of death and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of grandfathers and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Perfect by Natasha Friend · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of death and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of death and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 4–6 — Both on the Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Clayton Byrd Goes Underground for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

A Sudden Silence by Eve Bunting · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of death and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of death and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner · grades 11–12 — Shares themes of death and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of grandfathers and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Perfect by Natasha Friend · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of death and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to Clayton Byrd Goes Underground?: The 10 closest matches to Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia on ReadingList include The Fourteenth Goldfish, Fig Pudding, Flying Solo, You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye, and Sunny Side Up. Each is scored on shared themes (death, grandparent and child, and bereavement), 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 Clayton Byrd Goes Underground 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.

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