What books are similar to Max and the Midknights?

The 10 closest matches to Max and the Midknights by Lincoln Peirce on ReadingList include Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, Dog Man, The Season of Styx Malone, The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, and The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza. Each is scored on shared themes (adventure, humor, and identity), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Max and the Midknights reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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.

Books like Max and the Midknights

If you liked Max and the Midknights, read Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, Dog Man, or The Season of Styx Malone — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce — shares humor

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Looking for books like Max and the Midknights by Lincoln Peirce (Fantasy · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of adventure, humor, and identity. 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Big Nate: In a Class by Himself500L: Is by Lincoln Peirce, the same author, shares themes of humor, and both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list). Amazon → books like this →
Dog Man390L: Shares themes of humor and identity, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
The Season of Styx Malone510L: Shares themes of adventure, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spellgrades 3–7: Shares themes of adventure, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The First Cat in Space Ate Pizzagrades 2–5: Shares themes of adventure and humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
A Royal Conundrumgrades 3–6: Shares themes of adventure, humor, and identity and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulanegrades 3–6: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissorsgrades 2–8: Shares themes of adventure and humor and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Willa of the Woodgrades 4–7: Shares themes of identity, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
A Tale Dark and Grimmgrades 4–7: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Max and the Midknights for younger readers (K–2)

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

Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton · 530L — Shares themes of adventure and humor and overlapping grades (2–5).
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of humor, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Fantasy), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
A Lot to Like! by Derek Anderson · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Fox Has a Problem by Corey R. Tabor · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Max and the Midknights for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab · grades 4–7 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney · 950L — Shares themes of humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7).
The Houdini Box by Brian Selznick · grades 3–6 — Both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg · grades 3–8 — Both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton · 530L — Shares themes of adventure and humor and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Max and the Midknights for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab · grades 4–7 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney · 950L — Shares themes of humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7).
The Houdini Box by Brian Selznick · grades 3–6 — Both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg · grades 3–8 — Both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Legendarios: Wrath of the Rain God by Karla Arenas Valenti · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of adventure, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like Max and the Midknights for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list and same genre (Fantasy).
Cinder by Marissa Meyer · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Fantasy) and the same era (2010s).
Everless by Sara Holland · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Fantasy) and the same era (2010s).
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Fantasy) and the same era (2010s).
Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Shares themes of identity and both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list.

Common questions

What books are similar to Max and the Midknights?: The 10 closest matches to Max and the Midknights by Lincoln Peirce on ReadingList include Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, Dog Man, The Season of Styx Malone, The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, and The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza. Each is scored on shared themes (adventure, humor, and identity), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Max and the Midknights reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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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