What books are similar to The Butterfly?

The 10 closest matches to The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco on ReadingList include Tucky Jo and Little Heart, Prisoner B-3087, Boy at War, Mr. Lincoln's Way, and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Each is scored on shared themes (jews, france, and world war, 1939-1945), 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 The Butterfly 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 The Butterfly

If you liked The Butterfly, read Tucky Jo and Little Heart, Prisoner B-3087, or Boy at War — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Tucky Jo and Little Heart by Patricia Polacco — shares world war, 1939-1945 and history

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Looking for books like The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of jews, france, and world war, 1939-1945. 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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Tucky Jo and Little Heartgrades 3–5: Is by Patricia Polacco, the same author, shares themes of world war, 1939-1945 and history, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Prisoner B-3087grades 3–8: Shares themes of jews and history, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Boy at Wargrades 4–6: Shares themes of world war, 1939-1945 and history, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Mr. Lincoln's Waygrades 3–8: Is by Patricia Polacco, the same author, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaretgrades 4–6: Shares themes of jews, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Boxes for Katjegrades 3–8: Shares themes of world war, 1939-1945, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Dukegrades 3–5: Shares themes of world war, 1939-1945, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Saving Zashagrades 3–8: Shares themes of world war, 1939-1945, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Here Comes the Garbage Bargegrades 2–8: Shares themes of history, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Cats in Krasinski Squaregrades 3–8: Shares themes of jews and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to The Butterfly?: The 10 closest matches to The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco on ReadingList include Tucky Jo and Little Heart, Prisoner B-3087, Boy at War, Mr. Lincoln's Way, and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Each is scored on shared themes (jews, france, and world war, 1939-1945), 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 The Butterfly 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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Books like The Butterfly

10 books similar to The Butterfly

Why each is a match

Common questions

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