Books like Henry Reed's Babysitting Service

If you liked Henry Reed's Babysitting Service, read Henry Reed, Inc., Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job, or The Ghost of Fossil Glen — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Henry Reed, Inc. by Keith Robertson — shares diaries

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Looking for books like Henry Reed's Babysitting Service by Keith Robertson (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of babysitters, diaries, and babysitters, fiction. 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 4–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Henry Reed's Babysitting Service

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Why each is a match

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Henry Reed, Inc.grades 4–8
Is by Keith Robertson, the same author, shares themes of diaries, and both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list. Amazon → books like this →
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Jobgrades 3–8
Shares themes of babysitters and babysitters, fiction, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost of Fossil Glengrades 3–8
Shares themes of diaries, both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Shiloh890L
Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Island of the Blue Dolphins1000L
Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1960s). Amazon → books like this →
Ava and Pipgrades 3–8
Shares themes of diaries, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Lulu's Mysterious Missiongrades 2–8
Shares themes of babysitters, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Tangerinegrades 2–8
Shares themes of diaries, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Winn-Dixie610L
Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Bud, Not Buddy950L
Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Henry Reed's Babysitting Service for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French · grades K–3 — Shares themes of diaries and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Bristle Face by Zachary Ball · grades 4–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Sasha, My Friend by Barbara Corcoran · grades 4–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Henry Reed's Babysitting Service for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Bristle Face by Zachary Ball · grades 4–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Sasha, My Friend by Barbara Corcoran · grades 4–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of diaries and overlapping grades (3–8).

Common questions

What books are similar to Henry Reed's Babysitting Service?
The 10 closest matches to Henry Reed's Babysitting Service by Keith Robertson on ReadingList include Henry Reed, Inc., Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job, The Ghost of Fossil Glen, Shiloh, and Island of the Blue Dolphins. Each is scored on shared themes (babysitters, diaries, and babysitters, fiction), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Henry Reed's Babysitting Service reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–6), 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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