What books are similar to The Candymakers?

The 10 closest matches to The Candymakers by Wendy Mass on ReadingList include 11 Birthdays, Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen, Wedgie & Gizmo, Sunny Side Up, and The Liars Society. Each is scored on shared themes (secrets, contests, and friendship), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Candymakers reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–5), 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.

Books like The Candymakers

If you liked The Candymakers, read 11 Birthdays, Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen, or Wedgie & Gizmo — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

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Looking for books like The Candymakers by Wendy Mass (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of secrets, contests, and friendship. 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 3–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5: Is by Wendy Mass, the same author and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screengrades 3–5: Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Wedgie & Gizmogrades 3–6: Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Sunny Side Upgrades 3–6: Shares themes of secrets and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Liars Societygrades 3–6: Shares themes of secrets and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
City Spiesgrades 4–6: Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Invisiblegrades 4–6: Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Midnight at the Barclay Hotelgrades 3–5: Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
The Adventures of Invisible Boygrades 3–5: Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
The Area 51 Filesgrades 3–5: Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Candymakers for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret · grades 3–6 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2010s).
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 4–6 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).
The Million Dollar Kick by Dan Gutman · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of contests and overlapping grades (4–6).
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown · 740L — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Candymakers for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass · grades 6–8 — Is by Wendy Mass, the same author and shares themes of friendship.
Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt · grades 6–8 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Stung by Bethany Wiggins · grades 6–9 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Variant by Robison Wells · grades 6–8 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
The Jigsaw Jungle by Kristin Levine · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of secrets.

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

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

Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of secrets and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Stung by Bethany Wiggins · grades 6–9 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2010s).
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen · grades 6–9 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Legend by Marie Lu · grades 6–9 — Both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Candymakers?: The 10 closest matches to The Candymakers by Wendy Mass on ReadingList include 11 Birthdays, Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen, Wedgie & Gizmo, Sunny Side Up, and The Liars Society. Each is scored on shared themes (secrets, contests, and friendship), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Candymakers reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–5), 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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