Books like River Friendly, River Wild

If you liked River Friendly, River Wild, read What Do They Do with All That Poo?, Apples to Oregon, or By the Light of the Halloween Moon — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: What Do They Do with All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz

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Looking for books like River Friendly, River Wild by Jane Kurtz (Children's · grades K–5)? 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 K–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to River Friendly, River Wild

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Why each is a match

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What Do They Do with All That Poo?grades K–3
Is by Jane Kurtz, the same author and overlapping grades (K–3). Amazon → books like this →
Apples to Oregongrades K–5
Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
By the Light of the Halloween Moongrades K–5
Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Fairy Wingsgrades K–5
Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
I Dream of Trainsgrades K–5
Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Last Nightgrades K–5
Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Mrs. Crump's Catgrades K–5
Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Not Afraid of Dogsgrades K–5
Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
Snow (Book & CD Set)grades K–5
Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →
The Dirty Cowboygrades K–5
Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like River Friendly, River Wild for younger readers (K–2)

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

  • The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Philemon Sturges · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • The Longest Night by Marion Dane Bauer · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • The Mysterious Collection of Dr. David Harleyson by Jean Cassels · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • The Shoe Tree of Chagrin by J. Patrick Lewis · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).

Books like River Friendly, River Wild for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Philemon Sturges · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • The Longest Night by Marion Dane Bauer · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • The Mysterious Collection of Dr. David Harleyson by Jean Cassels · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).
  • The Shoe Tree of Chagrin by J. Patrick Lewis · grades K–5 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (K–5).

Common questions

What books are similar to River Friendly, River Wild?
The 10 closest matches to River Friendly, River Wild by Jane Kurtz on ReadingList include What Do They Do with All That Poo?, Apples to Oregon, By the Light of the Halloween Moon, Fairy Wings, and I Dream of Trains. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades K–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like River Friendly, River Wild reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades K–5), 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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