Books like Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold)

If you liked Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold), read Bud, Not Buddy, Bucking the Sarge, or One Crazy Summer — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

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Looking for books like Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold) by Christopher Paul Curtis? 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold)

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Why each is a match

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Bud, Not Buddy950L
Is by Christopher Paul Curtis, the same author, both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Bucking the Sargegrades 4–9
Is by Christopher Paul Curtis, the same author and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
One Crazy Summer750L
Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Chickadeegrades 4–7
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Dash (Dogs of World War II)grades 4–7
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Dead End in Norveltgrades 4–7
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Full of Beansgrades 4–7
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
New Kidgrades 4–8
Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
P.S. Be Elevengrades 5–8
Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Gold)grades 3–10
Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold) for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley · 580L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson · grades 4–7 — Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • Chinese Menu by Grace Lin · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–10).

Books like Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold) for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley · 580L — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s).
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson · grades 4–7 — Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • Chinese Menu by Grace Lin · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–10).

Books like Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold) for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Chinese Menu by Grace Lin · grades 3–10 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–10).
  • Butterfly Yellow by Thanhhà Lại · grades 9–12 — Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list and the same era (2010s).
  • March Book Three by John Lewis · grades 9–12 — Both on the Coretta Scott King Author Award list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold)?
The 10 closest matches to Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold) by Christopher Paul Curtis on ReadingList include Bud, Not Buddy, Bucking the Sarge, One Crazy Summer, Chickadee, and Dash (Dogs of World War II). Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic Gold) reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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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