What books are similar to Dogtown?

The 10 closest matches to Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko on ReadingList include How to Eat Fried Worms, Stuntboy, In-Between Time, A Royal Conundrum, Punycorn, and Roller Girl. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, perseverance, and humor), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Dogtown reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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 Dogtown

If you liked Dogtown, read How to Eat Fried Worms, Stuntboy, In-Between Time, or A Royal Conundrum — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell — shares friendship and humor

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Looking for books like Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship, perseverance, and humor. 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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How to Eat Fried Wormsgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship, humor, and courage, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Stuntboy, In-Between Timegrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor and courage, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
A Royal Conundrumgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Punycorngrades 3–5: Shares themes of perseverance, humor, and courage and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Roller Girl440L: Shares themes of friendship and perseverance, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Swim Teamgrades 3–7: Shares themes of friendship, perseverance, and courage, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It Allgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knightgrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor and courage, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Shiloh890L: Shares themes of courage, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
It Came from the Treesgrades 3–6: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Dogtown for younger readers (K–2)

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

Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of perseverance, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater · grades K–2 — Shares themes of perseverance and courage.
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) by Christina Soontornvat · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of humor, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Dogtown for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of perseverance and courage, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla · grades 3–6 — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Cybil War by Betsy Byars · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective by Janet Tashjian · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like Dogtown for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of perseverance and courage, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla · grades 3–6 — Both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Cybil War by Betsy Byars · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective by Janet Tashjian · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).

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

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

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys · grades 9–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Shares themes of courage and both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list).
Torch by Lyn Miller-Lachmann · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of courage and both on the California Young Reader Medal list.
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 Dogtown?: The 10 closest matches to Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko on ReadingList include How to Eat Fried Worms, Stuntboy, In-Between Time, A Royal Conundrum, Punycorn, and Roller Girl. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, perseverance, and humor), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Dogtown reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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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