What books are similar to Pie in the Sky?

The 10 closest matches to Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai on ReadingList include Front Desk, The Boy at the Back of the Class, Other Words for Home, Save Me a Seat, and Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe. Each is scored on shared themes (immigration, grief, and baking), 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 Pie in the Sky 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 Pie in the Sky

If you liked Pie in the Sky, read Front Desk, The Boy at the Back of the Class, or Other Words for Home — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Front Desk by Kelly Yang — shares immigration

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Looking for books like Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of immigration, grief, and baking. 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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Front Desk640L: Shares themes of immigration, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
The Boy at the Back of the Classgrades 3–6: Shares themes of immigration, both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Other Words for Home930L: Shares themes of immigration, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Save Me a Seat780L: Shares themes of immigration, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybegrades 4–7: Shares themes of grief, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Max and the Midknightsgrades 3–6: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Parachute Kidsgrades 3–7: Shares themes of immigration, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Season of Styx Malone510L: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Wishgrades 3–5: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Pie in the Sky for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of grief, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Hope in the Valley by Mitali Perkins · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of grief, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger · grades 4–6 — Both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of grief and overlapping grades (4–7).
The Girl with the Ghost Machine by Lauren DeStefano · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of grief and overlapping grades (3–8).

Books like Pie in the Sky for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of grief, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Hope in the Valley by Mitali Perkins · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of grief, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger · grades 4–6 — Both on the Rhode Island Children's Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Shares themes of grief.
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of grief and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Pie in the Sky for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds · 720L — Shares themes of grief.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Shares themes of grief.
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of immigration.
Four for the Road by K.J. Reilly · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of grief.
My Ántonia by Willa Cather · 1010L — Shares themes of immigration.

Common questions

What books are similar to Pie in the Sky?: The 10 closest matches to Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai on ReadingList include Front Desk, The Boy at the Back of the Class, Other Words for Home, Save Me a Seat, and Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe. Each is scored on shared themes (immigration, grief, and baking), 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 Pie in the Sky 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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