Books like The Dark Frigate
If you liked The Dark Frigate, read Sounder, The Midwife's Apprentice, or Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.
Closest match: Sounder by William H. Armstrong
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Looking for books like The Dark Frigate by Hawes C. (Fiction · grades 3–7)? 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 3–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to The Dark Frigate
SounderWilliam H. Armstrong
The Midwife's ApprenticeKaren Cushman
Young Fu of the Upper YangtzeElizabeth Foreman Lewis
A Smart Kid Like YouStella Pevsner
Motown and DidiWalter Dean Myers
WildernessDavid Thompson
Gay Neck, The Story of a Pigeon & Ghond The HunterDhan Gopal Mukerji
Hitty Her First Hundred YearsRachel Field
Roller SkatesRuth Sawyer
Shen of the SeaArthur Bowie Chrisman
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Why each is a match
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- Soundergrades 3–7
- Both on the Newbery Medal list, same genre (Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
- The Midwife's Apprenticegrades 3–7
- Both on the Newbery Medal list, same genre (Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
- Young Fu of the Upper Yangtzegrades 3–7
- Both on the Newbery Medal list, same genre (Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
- A Smart Kid Like Yougrades 4–8
- Same genre (Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Motown and Didigrades 4–8
- Same genre (Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Wildernessgrades 4–8
- Same genre (Fiction) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Gay Neck, The Story of a Pigeon & Ghond The Huntergrades 3–7
- Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (1920s). Amazon → books like this →
- Hitty Her First Hundred Yearsgrades 3–7
- Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (1920s). Amazon → books like this →
- Roller Skatesgrades 4–7
- Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1920s). Amazon → books like this →
- Shen of the Seagrades 3–7
- Both on the Newbery Medal list, overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (1920s). Amazon → books like this →
Common questions
- What books are similar to The Dark Frigate?
- The 10 closest matches to The Dark Frigate by Hawes C. on ReadingList include Sounder, The Midwife's Apprentice, Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, A Smart Kid Like You, and Motown and Didi. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
- Are books like The Dark Frigate reading-level appropriate?
- Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–7), 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.