What books are similar to Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle?

The 10 closest matches to Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Brian Dennis on ReadingList include Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness, Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens, Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet, The Dark!: Wild Life in the Mysterious World of Caves, and The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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 Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle

If you liked Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle, read Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness first — the closest match in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness by Donn Fendler

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Looking for books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Brian Dennis (Nonfiction · grades 4–8)? 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wildernessgrades 4–8: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helensgrades 4–8: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planetgrades 4–8: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Dark!: Wild Life in the Mysterious World of Cavesgrades 3–7: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockeygrades 3–7: Both on the Maine Student Book Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Her Right Footgrades 3–8: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Sergeant Recklessgrades 3–8: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Skydiving Beaversgrades 3–8: Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Brother Eagle, Sister Skygrades 4–8: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost730L: Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle for younger readers (K–2)

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

I'm Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton · grades K–2 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and the same era (2010s).
Honey, the Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln by Shari Swanson · grades K–2 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list and same genre (Nonfiction).
A Friend for Lakota: The Incredible True Story of a Wolf Who Braved Bullying by Jim Dutcher · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library! by Vicki Myron · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
Good Dog by Maya Gottfried · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).

Books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder · grades 4–8 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Smile by Raina Telgemeier · 410L — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s).
A Friend for Lakota: The Incredible True Story of a Wolf Who Braved Bullying by Jim Dutcher · grades K–3 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s).

Books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder · grades 4–8 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
Smile by Raina Telgemeier · 410L — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s).
A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Nonfiction), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2010s).
Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Art by Hannah Salyer · grades 4–8 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list, same genre (Nonfiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Bonnie and Clyde: The Making of a Legend by Karen Blumenthal · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list, same genre (Nonfiction), and the same era (2010s).
The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Nonfiction) and the same era (2010s).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard · grades 9–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2010s).
Murder Among Friends by Candace Fleming · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Nonfiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle?: The 10 closest matches to Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Brian Dennis on ReadingList include Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness, Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens, Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet, The Dark!: Wild Life in the Mysterious World of Caves, and The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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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