Books like John, Paul, George and Ben
If you liked John, Paul, George and Ben, read Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, Last Holiday Concert, or Loser — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.
Closest match: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
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Looking for books like John, Paul, George and Ben by Lane Smith (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–5)? 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 John, Paul, George and Ben
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary ThingsLenore Look
Last Holiday ConcertAndrew Clements- LoserJerry SpinelliLoserJerry Spinelli
- Say What?Margaret Peterson HaddixSay What?Margaret Peterson Haddix
Summer of RileyEve Bunting- The Lemonade WarDavies, JacquelineThe Lemonade WarDavies, Jacqueline
The Junkyard DogErika Tamar
Because of Winn-DixieKate DiCamillo · 610L
Christopher Mouse: The Tale of a Small TravelerWilliam Wise
Each Little Bird That SingsDeborah Wiles
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Why each is a match
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- Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Thingsgrades 3–5
- Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
- Last Holiday Concertgrades 3–5
- Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
- Losergrades 4–6
- Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
- Say What?grades 2–8
- Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Summer of Rileygrades 3–5
- Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
- The Lemonade Wargrades 4–6
- Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
- The Junkyard Doggrades 3–5
- Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
- Because of Winn-Dixie610L
- Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
- Christopher Mouse: The Tale of a Small Travelergrades 3–6
- Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
- Each Little Bird That Singsgrades 3–6
- Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Books like John, Paul, George and Ben for high school & teens (grades 9–12)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.
- My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult · grades 9–12 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
- The House Next Door by Richie Tankersley Cusick · grades 9–12 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
- Wolf Rider: A Tale of Terror by Avi · grades 9–12 — Both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
Common questions
- What books are similar to John, Paul, George and Ben?
- The 10 closest matches to John, Paul, George and Ben by Lane Smith on ReadingList include Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, Last Holiday Concert, Loser, Say What?, and Summer of Riley. 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 John, Paul, George and Ben 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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