What books are similar to The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza?

The 10 closest matches to The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett on ReadingList include Dog Man, A Royal Conundrum, Max and the Midknights, Dog Trouble: A Graphic Novel, and Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight. Each is scored on shared themes (space, humor, and adventure), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–5), 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 First Cat in Space Ate Pizza

If you liked The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, read Dog Man, A Royal Conundrum, or Max and the Midknights — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Dog Man by Dav Pilkey — shares humor and friendship

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Looking for books like The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett (Middle Grade Graphic Novel · grades 2–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of space, humor, and adventure. 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 2–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Dog Man390L: Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel). Amazon → books like this →
A Royal Conundrumgrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor, adventure, and friendship and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Max and the Midknightsgrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor and adventure, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Dog Trouble: A Graphic Novelgrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knightgrades 3–6: Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Punycorngrades 3–5: Shares themes of humor, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
The Terrible Twogrades 3–5: Is by Mac Barnett, the same author, overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye530L: Shares themes of humor, adventure, and friendship and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
A Lot to Like!grades 2–5: Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
Fox Has a Problemgrades 2–5: Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza for younger readers (K–2)

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

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of humor and adventure and overlapping grades (2–8).
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of adventure and friendship and overlapping grades (2–4).
Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–5).
Beanie the Bansheenie by Eoin Colfer · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of humor and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel).
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce · 500L — Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel).
Curveball by Pablo Cartaya · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–5).
Misfit Mansion by Kay Davault · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–5).
Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel by Rex Ogle · grades 3–7 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–7).

Books like The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of humor and friendship and both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list.
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel).
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce · 500L — Shares themes of humor and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel).
Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel by Rex Ogle · grades 3–7 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–7).
Global by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin · grades 6–8 — Same genre (Middle Grade Graphic Novel) and the same era (2020s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza?: The 10 closest matches to The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett on ReadingList include Dog Man, A Royal Conundrum, Max and the Midknights, Dog Trouble: A Graphic Novel, and Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight. Each is scored on shared themes (space, humor, and adventure), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 2–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 2–5), 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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