What books are similar to Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade?

The 10 closest matches to Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements on ReadingList include Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You, The Dollhouse Murders, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Wait Till Helen Comes, and Fudge. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade 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 Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade

If you liked Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade, read Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You, The Dollhouse Murders, or There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You by Barthe DeClements

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Looking for books like Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements? 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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Sixth Grade Can Really Kill Yougrades 3–8: Is by Barthe DeClements, the same author, both on the Land of Enchantment Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Dollhouse Murdersgrades 4–7: Both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroomgrades 4–6: Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+5 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
Wait Till Helen Comesgrades 4–7: Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
Fudgegrades 4–6: Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
The Whipping Boygrades 3–7: Both on the Hawai'i Nēnē Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
A Dog Called Kittygrades 3–5: Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
Night of the Twistersgrades 3–6: Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
Nightmare Mountaingrades 3–6: Both on the Iowa Children's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Winn-Dixie610L: Both on the Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award list (+7 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–6).
Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume · grades 3–6 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–6).
Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+4 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+4 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–6).
Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume · grades 3–6 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–6).
Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+4 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+4 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+2 more shared lists).
Scythe by Neal Shusterman · grades 7–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists).
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer · grades 9–12 — Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list).

Common questions

What books are similar to Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade?: The 10 closest matches to Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements on ReadingList include Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You, The Dollhouse Murders, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Wait Till Helen Comes, and Fudge. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade 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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