What books are similar to Oliver's Great Big Universe?

The 10 closest matches to Oliver's Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham on ReadingList include Jawbreaker, The Superteacher Project, Haiku, Ew! Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature, J vs. K, and Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel. Each is scored on shared themes (science, humor, and middle school), 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 Oliver's Great Big Universe 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 Oliver's Great Big Universe

If you liked Oliver's Great Big Universe, read Jawbreaker, The Superteacher Project, or Haiku, Ew! Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Jawbreaker by Christina Wyman — shares middle school

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Looking for books like Oliver's Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of science, humor, and middle school. 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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Jawbreakergrades 3–7: Shares themes of middle school, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
The Superteacher Projectgrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Haiku, Ew! Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Naturegrades 3–6: Shares themes of science and humor and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
J vs. Kgrades 3–5: Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Four Eyes: A Graphic Novelgrades 3–7: Shares themes of middle school, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Firefly Summergrades 3–7: Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Labors of Hercules Bealgrades 3–7: Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Wild Journey of Juniper Berrygrades 3–6: Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
When Sea Becomes Skygrades 3–6: Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Oliver's Great Big Universe for younger readers (K–2)

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

The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).
A Journey Under the Sea by Craig Foster · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of science and overlapping grades (2–5).
The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate · grades 2–5 — Same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), overlapping grades (2–5), and the same era (2020s).

Books like Oliver's Great Big Universe for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

My Teacher Is an Alien by Bruce Coville · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of science and humor and overlapping grades (3–6).
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5).
The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).
A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like Oliver's Great Big Universe for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

My Teacher Is an Alien by Bruce Coville · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of science and humor and overlapping grades (3–6).
A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of humor, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
Blended by Sharon M. Draper · 610L — Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7).

Common questions

What books are similar to Oliver's Great Big Universe?: The 10 closest matches to Oliver's Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham on ReadingList include Jawbreaker, The Superteacher Project, Haiku, Ew! Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature, J vs. K, and Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel. Each is scored on shared themes (science, humor, and middle school), 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 Oliver's Great Big Universe 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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