What books are similar to Poppy?

The 10 closest matches to Poppy by Avi on ReadingList include The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, City of Orphans, Eleanor & Park, Holes, and Maniac Magee. 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 Poppy 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 Poppy

If you liked Poppy, read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, City of Orphans, or Eleanor & Park — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

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Looking for books like Poppy by Avi (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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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doylegrades 4–9: Is by Avi, the same author, both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, and same genre (Children's). Amazon → books like this →
City of Orphansgrades 6–8: Is by Avi, the same author, both on the Land of Enchantment Book Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Eleanor & Parkgrades 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 →
Thirteen Ways to Sink a Subgrades 4–7: Both on the Land of Enchantment Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7). 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 →
Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birdsgrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). 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 →

Books like Poppy for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Goldengrove ; Unleaving by Jill Paton Walsh · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Orphan Train Rider by Andrea Warren · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
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).

Books like Poppy for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Goldengrove ; Unleaving by Jill Paton Walsh · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Orphan Train Rider by Andrea Warren · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
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).

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

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

Goldengrove ; Unleaving by Jill Paton Walsh · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Orphan Train Rider by Andrea Warren · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
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).

Common questions

What books are similar to Poppy?: The 10 closest matches to Poppy by Avi on ReadingList include The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, City of Orphans, Eleanor & Park, Holes, and Maniac Magee. 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 Poppy 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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