What books are similar to Missing May?

The 10 closest matches to Missing May by Cynthia Rylant on ReadingList include Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds, M.C. Higgins, the Great, Holes, Maniac Magee, and A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Missing May reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–9), 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 Missing May

If you liked Missing May, read Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds, M.C. Higgins, the Great, or Holes — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds by Cynthia Rylant

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Looking for books like Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (Children's · grades 4–9)? 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 4–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birdsgrades 4–10: Is by Cynthia Rylant, the same author, both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, and same genre (Children's). Amazon → books like this →
M.C. Higgins, the Greatgrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Holes660L: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
Maniac Magee820L: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wondergrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Ajeemah and His Songrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Chuck Closegrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Goldengrove ; Unleavinggrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Orphan Train Ridergrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Poppygrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Missing May for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Sojourner Truth by Pat McKissack · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Top of the World by Steve Jenkins · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

Books like Missing May for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Sojourner Truth by Pat McKissack · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Top of the World by Steve Jenkins · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

Books like Missing May for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Sojourner Truth by Pat McKissack · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Top of the World by Steve Jenkins · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

Common questions

What books are similar to Missing May?: The 10 closest matches to Missing May by Cynthia Rylant on ReadingList include Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds, M.C. Higgins, the Great, Holes, Maniac Magee, and A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Missing May reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–9), 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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