What books are similar to Skinnybones?

The 10 closest matches to Skinnybones by Barbara Park on ReadingList include My Horrible Secret, Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth, Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus, Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days, and When the Boys Ran the House. Each is scored on shared themes (humorous stories, baseball stories, and schools in fiction), 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 Skinnybones 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 Skinnybones

If you liked Skinnybones, read My Horrible Secret or Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Closest match: My Horrible Secret by Stephen Roos — shares humorous stories and baseball stories

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Looking for books like Skinnybones by Barbara Park (Humor · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of humorous stories, baseball stories, and schools in fiction. 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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My Horrible Secretgrades 4–6: Shares themes of humorous stories and baseball stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouthgrades 3–8: Is by Barbara Park, the same author, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Busgrades 3–5: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and same genre (Humor). Amazon → books like this →
Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Daysgrades 4–6: Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
When the Boys Ran the Housegrades 3–6: Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Arnie, the Doughnutgrades 2–8: Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Banana Twistgrades 4–6: Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Dear Mrs. LaRuegrades 3–5: Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Dog Breathgrades 2–8: Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Double Fudgegrades 4–6: Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Skinnybones for younger readers (K–2)

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

A Lion is a Lion by Polly Dunbar · grades K–0 — Shares themes of humorous stories and same genre (Humor).
Escargot by Dashka Slater · grades K–2 — Shares themes of humorous stories and same genre (Humor).
Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold · grades K–1 — Shares themes of humorous stories and same genre (Humor).
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas · grades K–2 — Shares themes of humorous stories and same genre (Humor).

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

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

Knocked Out by Nunga-Nungas by Louise Rennison · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–5).
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by O'Malley, Kevin · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–5).
Piggie Pie! by Margie Palatini · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–5).
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (2–8).

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

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

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (2–8).
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (2–8).
The Sixth Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! by Janet Stevens · grades 3–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary · grades 4–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Humor), and overlapping grades (4–6).

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

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

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of humorous stories and same genre (Humor).
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Humor).
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of schools in fiction.

Common questions

What books are similar to Skinnybones?: The 10 closest matches to Skinnybones by Barbara Park on ReadingList include My Horrible Secret, Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth, Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus, Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days, and When the Boys Ran the House. Each is scored on shared themes (humorous stories, baseball stories, and schools in fiction), 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 Skinnybones 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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