Books like How to Steal a Dog

If you liked How to Steal a Dog, read Wish, 11 Birthdays, or Eleven — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Wish by Barbara O'Connor

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Looking for books like How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor? 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 3–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to How to Steal a Dog

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Why each is a match

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Wishgrades 3–5
Is by Barbara O'Connor, the same author and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5
Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Elevengrades 3–5
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Winn-Dixie610L
Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
A Dog's Lifegrades 4–6
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
The City of Embergrades 4–6
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
A Million Ways Homegrades 4–6
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
America is Under Attack September 11 2001grades 3–5
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Guinea Doggrades 3–5
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like How to Steal a Dog for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5).
  • Life on Mars by Jennifer Brown · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5).
  • Malcolm at Midnight by W. H. Beck · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5).
  • Odder by Katherine Applegate · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5).
  • Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie · grades 3–5 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5).

Books like How to Steal a Dog for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Cracker The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata · grades 6–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2000s).
  • The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti · grades 6–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2000s).
  • Buddy by M. H. Herlong · grades 6–8 — Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists).
  • 96 Miles by J. L. Esplin · grades 6–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
  • Confetti Girl by Diana López · grades 6–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list).

Common questions

What books are similar to How to Steal a Dog?
The 10 closest matches to How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor on ReadingList include Wish, 11 Birthdays, Eleven, Because of Winn-Dixie, and A Dog's Life. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like How to Steal a Dog reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–5), 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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