What books are similar to Simon Sort of Says?

The 10 closest matches to Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow on ReadingList include Confessions of a Class Clown, The First State of Being, Popcorn, Heroes, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, humor, and courage), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Simon Sort of Says reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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 Simon Sort of Says

If you liked Simon Sort of Says, read Confessions of a Class Clown, The First State of Being, or Popcorn — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Confessions of a Class Clown by Arianne Costner — shares friendship and humor

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Looking for books like Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow (Middle Grade Fiction · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship, humor, and courage. 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 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Confessions of a Class Clowngrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
The First State of Beinggrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Popcorngrades 4–8: Shares themes of humor, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Heroesgrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Diary of a Wimpy Kid950L: Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Control Freaksgrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Mid-Airgrades 5–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Not Nothinggrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Roll for Initiativegrades 4–8: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Fish in a Tree550L: Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Simon Sort of Says 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 friendship and humor and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey · 720L — Shares themes of friendship and humor and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate · grades 2–5 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
A Lot to Like! by Derek Anderson · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of friendship and humor and both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list.

Books like Simon Sort of Says for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

J vs. K by Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo · 610L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Punycorn by Andi Watson · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of humor and courage and both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list.
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and courage and both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list).
The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of friendship and humor and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).

Books like Simon Sort of Says for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper · 700L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8).
Skyriders by Polly Holyoke · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of friendship and courage, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of courage, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Restart by Gordon Korman · 730L — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).

Common questions

What books are similar to Simon Sort of Says?: The 10 closest matches to Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow on ReadingList include Confessions of a Class Clown, The First State of Being, Popcorn, Heroes, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, humor, and courage), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Simon Sort of Says reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), 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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