What books are similar to How This Book Got Red?

The 10 closest matches to How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias on ReadingList include Yuna's Cardboard Castles, No Cats in the Library, Gibberish, Buffalo Fluffalo, and You're So Amazing!. Each is scored on shared themes (identity, friendship, and belonging), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades K–2), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like How This Book Got Red reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades K–2), 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 How This Book Got Red

If you liked How This Book Got Red, read Yuna's Cardboard Castles, No Cats in the Library, or Gibberish — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Yuna's Cardboard Castles by Marie Tang — shares identity and friendship

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Looking for books like How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias (Picture Book · grades K–2)? It’s most often read for its themes of identity, friendship, and belonging. 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 K–2 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Yuna's Cardboard Castlesgrades K–2: Shares themes of identity, friendship, and belonging, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon → books like this →
No Cats in the Librarygrades K–2: Shares themes of friendship and belonging, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon → books like this →
Gibberishgrades K–3: Shares themes of friendship and belonging, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Buffalo Fluffalogrades K–2: Shares themes of identity and friendship, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon → books like this →
You're So Amazing!grades K–2: Shares themes of identity and friendship, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Picture Book). Amazon → books like this →
Corduroy600L: Shares themes of friendship and belonging, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Millie Fleur's Poison Gardengrades K–3: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Time to Make Artgrades K–3: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Ursula Upside Downgrades K–3: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Butt or Face?grades K–2: Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2). Amazon → books like this →

Books like How This Book Got Red for younger readers (K–2)

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

How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide by Ame Dyckman · grades K–2 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2).
Night in the City by Julie Downing · grades K–2 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2).
Thank a Farmer by Maria Gianferrari · grades K–2 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2).
Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater · grades K–2 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–2).
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like How This Book Got Red for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Because of You, John Lewis by Andrea Davis Pinkney · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of identity, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Picture Book).
Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of identity and belonging.
A Mischief of Mice by Christie Matheson · grades K–3 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
I Lived Inside a Whale by Xin Li · grades K–3 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).
Just Like Millie by Lauren Castillo · grades K–3 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Picture Book), and overlapping grades (K–3).

Books like How This Book Got Red for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of identity and belonging.
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga · 930L — Shares themes of identity and belonging.
The Firefly Summer by Morgan Matson · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of belonging.
The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of belonging.
A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen by Erin Frankel · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Picture Book) and the same era (2020s).

Books like How This Book Got Red for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard by Ronald Wimberly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
That's Not My Name by Megan Lally · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of identity and friendship and both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list.
Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of identity and friendship.

Common questions

What books are similar to How This Book Got Red?: The 10 closest matches to How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias on ReadingList include Yuna's Cardboard Castles, No Cats in the Library, Gibberish, Buffalo Fluffalo, and You're So Amazing!. Each is scored on shared themes (identity, friendship, and belonging), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades K–2), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like How This Book Got Red reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades K–2), 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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