What books are similar to Skyriders?

The 10 closest matches to Skyriders by Polly Holyoke on ReadingList include Brick Dust and Bones, Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl, The Neptune Project, Control Freaks, and Impossible Creatures. Each is scored on shared themes (courage, friendship, and perseverance), 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 Skyriders 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 Skyriders

If you liked Skyriders, read Brick Dust and Bones, Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl, or The Neptune Project — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Brick Dust and Bones by M.R. Fournet — shares courage and perseverance

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Looking for books like Skyriders by Polly Holyoke (Middle Grade Fantasy · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance. 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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Brick Dust and Bonesgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatlgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
The Neptune Projectgrades 6–8: Is by Polly Holyoke, the same author, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Control Freaksgrades 6–8: Shares themes of friendship and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Impossible Creaturesgrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage and friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Lost Yeargrades 6–8: Shares themes of perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Amir and the Jinn Princessgrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Last Hope in Hopetowngrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Night Traingrades 4–8: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Globalgrades 6–8: Shares themes of courage and perseverance and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Skyriders for younger readers (K–2)

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

The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) by Christina Soontornvat · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage and friendship and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage and friendship and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance.
Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise · grades K–3 — Shares themes of courage, friendship, and perseverance.
Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater · grades K–2 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance.

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

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

The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Growing Home by Beth Ferry · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Punycorn by Andi Watson · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of courage and perseverance and both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list.
Curveball by Pablo Cartaya · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance and both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list.
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) by Christina Soontornvat · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of courage and friendship and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).

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

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

Heroes by Alan Gratz · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage and friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage and friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of courage and friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (5–9).
Just a Pinch of Magic by Alechia Dow · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Common questions

What books are similar to Skyriders?: The 10 closest matches to Skyriders by Polly Holyoke on ReadingList include Brick Dust and Bones, Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl, The Neptune Project, Control Freaks, and Impossible Creatures. Each is scored on shared themes (courage, friendship, and perseverance), 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 Skyriders 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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