What books are similar to The Cay?

The 10 closest matches to The Cay by Theodore Taylor on ReadingList include Code Name Kingfisher, Bud, Not Buddy, Iceberg, One Crazy Summer, and A Long Walk to Water. Each is scored on shared themes (survival, friendship, and race), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Cay reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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 The Cay

If you liked The Cay, read Code Name Kingfisher, Bud, Not Buddy, or Iceberg — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Closest match: Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler — shares survival and courage

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Looking for books like The Cay by Theodore Taylor (Historical Fiction · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of survival, friendship, and race. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, 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 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Code Name Kingfishergrades 4–8: Shares themes of survival and courage, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Bud, Not Buddy950L: Shares themes of race, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Iceberggrades 3–7: Shares themes of survival and courage, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
One Crazy Summer750L: Shares themes of race, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Long Walk to Water720L: Shares themes of survival, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Refugee800L: Shares themes of survival, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon → books like this →
Snipergrades 6–8: Is by Theodore Taylor, the same author and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Night Dividedgrades 5–8: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Alliesgrades 5–9: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon → books like this →
Echo680L: Shares themes of courage, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →

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

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

Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–9).
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of survival, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (5–8).
The River by Gary Paulsen · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (5–8).
Two Degrees by Alan Gratz · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (5–8).

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

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

Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–9).
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of survival, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (5–8).
The River by Gary Paulsen · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (5–8).
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (6–9).

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

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

Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Shares themes of courage, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–9).
Torch by Lyn Miller-Lachmann · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of courage and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of survival and courage and overlapping grades (6–9).
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and the same era (1960s).
My Ántonia by Willa Cather · 1010L — Shares themes of friendship and same genre (Historical Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Cay?: The 10 closest matches to The Cay by Theodore Taylor on ReadingList include Code Name Kingfisher, Bud, Not Buddy, Iceberg, One Crazy Summer, and A Long Walk to Water. Each is scored on shared themes (survival, friendship, and race), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 5–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Cay reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 5–8), 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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