What books are similar to The Dunderheads?

The 10 closest matches to The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman on ReadingList include No More Dead Dogs, Peter and the Starcatchers, The Girl Who Could Fly, Weslandia, and Word Eater. Each is scored on shared themes (schools, individuality, and humorous stories), 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 Dunderheads 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 Dunderheads

If you liked The Dunderheads, read No More Dead Dogs, Peter and the Starcatchers, or The Girl Who Could Fly — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Looking for books like The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman (Fantasy · grades 3–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of schools, individuality, and humorous stories. 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.

Reading the whole similar-books list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Why each is a match

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No More Dead Dogsgrades 2–8: Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Peter and the Starcatchersgrades 3–8: Shares themes of humorous stories, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Girl Who Could Flygrades 4–6: Shares themes of schools and individuality and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Weslandiagrades 3–8: Is by Paul Fleischman, the same author, both on the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award (Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards), Grades 3-5 & Grades 6-8 divisions list, and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Word Eatergrades 3–8: Shares themes of schools, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Dear Mrs. LaRuegrades 3–5: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award (Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards), Grades 3-5 & Grades 6-8 divisions list, and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Flying Sologrades 4–6: Shares themes of schools and teachers and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Freaky Fridaygrades 4–6: Shares themes of schools, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
My Horrible Secretgrades 4–6: Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dudegrades 3–5: Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award (Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards), Grades 3-5 & Grades 6-8 divisions list, and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Dunderheads for younger readers (K–2)

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

Arnie, the Doughnut by Laurie Keller · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
Scat by Carl Hiaasen · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of teachers and overlapping grades (2–8).
Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of individuality and overlapping grades (2–8).
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of individuality and overlapping grades (2–8).
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).

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

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

The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–8).
The Sixth Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (4–6).
Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus by John Grandits · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of humorous stories, both on the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award (Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards), Grades 3-5 & Grades 6-8 divisions list, and overlapping grades (3–5).
A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–8).
Arnie, the Doughnut by Laurie Keller · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).

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

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

The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–8).
The Sixth Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools and humorous stories and overlapping grades (4–6).
A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (3–8).
Arnie, the Doughnut by Laurie Keller · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (2–8).
Double Fudge by Judy Blume · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of humorous stories and overlapping grades (4–6).

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

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

Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Fantasy) and the same era (2000s).
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of individuality.
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen · grades 11–12 — Shares themes of individuality.
A Fate So Cold by Amanda Foody · grades 7–12 — Same genre (Fantasy).
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley · 870L — Shares themes of individuality.

Book data last updated 2026-08-11. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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