What books are similar to The Fourteenth Goldfish?

The 10 closest matches to The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm on ReadingList include 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents, Backlash, Clayton Byrd Goes Underground, Saving Zasha, and All About Sam. Each is scored on shared themes (scientists, aging, and grandfathers), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Fourteenth Goldfish reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–6), 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 Fourteenth Goldfish

If you liked The Fourteenth Goldfish, read 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents, Backlash, or Clayton Byrd Goes Underground — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of scientists, aging, and grandfathers. 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 4–6 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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101 Ways to Bug Your Parentsgrades 4–6: Shares themes of family life, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Backlashgrades 3–8: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Clayton Byrd Goes Undergroundgrades 3–5: Shares themes of grandfathers, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Saving Zashagrades 3–8: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
All About Samgrades 4–6: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Attaboy, Sam!grades 4–6: Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Ellie's Storygrades 3–6: Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Front Desk640L: Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Full of Beansgrades 4–7: Is by Jennifer L. Holm, the same author, overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost Boys360L: Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Fourteenth Goldfish for younger readers (K–2)

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

Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
Lulu's Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).
My Explosive Diary by Emily Gale · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2010s).

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

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

Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Striped Ice Cream by Joan M. Lexau · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

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

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

Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8).
Loser by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Striped Ice Cream by Joan M. Lexau · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of family life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).

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

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

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s).
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 7–10 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Posted by John David Anderson · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s).
Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper · grades 7–10 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman · grades 7–10 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (2010s).

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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