What books are similar to The Fighting Ground?

The 10 closest matches to The Fighting Ground by Avi on ReadingList include Good Night, Mr. Tom, The Devil's Arithmetic, Barbed Wire Baseball, Pink and Say, and Something Upstairs. Each is scored on shared themes (history, united states in fiction, and united states), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Fighting Ground reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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 Fighting Ground

If you liked The Fighting Ground, read Good Night, Mr. Tom, The Devil's Arithmetic, or Barbed Wire Baseball — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.

Closest match: Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian — shares historical fiction

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Looking for books like The Fighting Ground by Avi (Historical Fiction · grades 4–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of history, united states in fiction, and united states. 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Good Night, Mr. Tomgrades 6–8: Shares themes of historical fiction, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Devil's Arithmetic730L: Shares themes of history, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Barbed Wire Baseballgrades 3–8: Shares themes of historical fiction, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Pink and Saygrades 4–8: Shares themes of united states, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Something Upstairsgrades 6–8: Is by Avi, the same author, overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (1980s). Amazon → books like this →
Code Name Kingfishergrades 4–8: Shares themes of history, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Fever 1793grades 2–8: Shares themes of history, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Iceberggrades 3–7: Shares themes of history, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Nothing Else But Miraclesgrades 3–7: Shares themes of history, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Rifles for Watiegrades 5–9: Shares themes of history, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon → books like this →

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

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

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis · 1000L — Shares themes of history, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia · 750L — Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of historical fiction, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Worth by A. LaFaye · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of history, both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, and overlapping grades (4–8).
A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin · grades 5–8 — Same genre (Historical Fiction) and overlapping grades (5–8).

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

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

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis · 1000L — Shares themes of history, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia · 750L — Both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (5–8).
Lewis and Clark and Me by Laurie Myers · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of historical fiction, same genre (Historical Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Worth by A. LaFaye · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of history, both on the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction list, and overlapping grades (4–8).
When by Laurie McBain · grades 6–8 — Same genre (Historical Fiction), overlapping grades (6–8), and the same era (1980s).

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

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

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead · grades 11–12 — Shares themes of history and historical fiction and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín · grades 9–10 — Shares themes of history and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare · grades 11–12 — Shares themes of history and same genre (Historical Fiction).
Torch by Lyn Miller-Lachmann · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of history and same genre (Historical Fiction).
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway · grades 11–12 — Same genre (Historical Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Fighting Ground?: The 10 closest matches to The Fighting Ground by Avi on ReadingList include Good Night, Mr. Tom, The Devil's Arithmetic, Barbed Wire Baseball, Pink and Say, and Something Upstairs. Each is scored on shared themes (history, united states in fiction, and united states), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Fighting Ground reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–8), 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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