What books are similar to Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie?

The 10 closest matches to Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick on ReadingList include Echo, After Ever After, Mick Harte Was Here, A Night Divided, and Refugee. Each is scored on shared themes (family, illness, and music), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–9), 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 Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

If you liked Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie, read Echo, After Ever After, or Mick Harte Was Here — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan — shares family and music

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Looking for books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick (Realistic Fiction · grades 6–9)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, illness, and music. 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 6–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Echo680L: Shares themes of family and music, both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
After Ever Aftergrades 5–8: Is by Jordan Sonnenblick, the same author, overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Mick Harte Was Heregrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
A Night Dividedgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Refugee800L: Shares themes of family, both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Honest Truthgrades 5–8: Shares themes of illness, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Crossover750L: Shares themes of family, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrisegrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
When Stars Are Scatteredgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Matchedgrades 6–8: Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie for younger readers (K–2)

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

The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield · grades K–3 — Shares themes of music and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Chester by Mélanie Watt · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" by David LaRochelle · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings · grades K–3 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield · grades K–3 — Shares themes of music and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea · grades 3–5 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Chester by Mélanie Watt · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs · grades 3–5 — Both on the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s).
Ghost by Jason Reynolds · 730L — Both on the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Giver by Lois Lowry · 760L — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (6–8).

Books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (7–10).
Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (6–9).
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · 810L — Both on the Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (6–9).
Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds · grades 3–10 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell · grades 4–9 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–9), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie?: The 10 closest matches to Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick on ReadingList include Echo, After Ever After, Mick Harte Was Here, A Night Divided, and Refugee. Each is scored on shared themes (family, illness, and music), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–9), 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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