What books are similar to Falling Up?

The 10 closest matches to Falling Up by Shel Silverstein on ReadingList include A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Love That Dog, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Falling Up reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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.

Books like Falling Up

If you liked Falling Up, read A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, or Love That Dog — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

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Looking for books like Falling Up by Shel Silverstein (Poetry · grades 4–8)? 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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A Light in the Atticgrades 4–8: Is by Shel Silverstein, the same author, same genre (Poetry), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Where the Sidewalk Endsgrades 4–7: Is by Shel Silverstein, the same author, both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Love That Doggrades 4–8: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Poetry), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabangrades 4–8: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Holes660L: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Number the Stars670L: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Refugee800L: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Giver760L: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Talesgrades 4–8: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Falling Up for younger readers (K–2)

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

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. · grades K–3 — Same genre (Poetry).
Frankenstein Takes the Cake by Adam Rex · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Poetry) and overlapping grades (2–8).
My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman · grades K–3 — Same genre (Poetry).

Books like Falling Up for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7).
Alone by Megan E. Freeman · grades 4–6 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2020s).
Amir and the Jinn Princess by M. T. Khan · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2020s).
Between Two Brothers by Crystal Allen · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2020s).
Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2020s).

Books like Falling Up for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7).
Alone by Megan E. Freeman · grades 4–6 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2020s).
Amir and the Jinn Princess by M. T. Khan · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2020s).
Between Two Brothers by Crystal Allen · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2020s).
Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste · grades 4–8 — Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2020s).

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

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

England's Green by Zaffar Kunial · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Poetry) and the same era (2020s).
Ariel by Sylvia Plath · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Poetry).
Collected Poems by Gabriel Okara · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Poetry).
Kumukanda by Kayo Chingonyi · grades 9–10 — Same genre (Poetry).
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Poetry).

Common questions

What books are similar to Falling Up?: The 10 closest matches to Falling Up by Shel Silverstein on ReadingList include A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Love That Dog, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Falling Up reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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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