Books like The Girl Who Could Fly

If you liked The Girl Who Could Fly, read The Dunderheads, Zen and the Art of Faking It, or Fourth Grade Rats — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman — shares individuality and schools

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Looking for books like The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of individuality, flight, and ability. 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.

10 books similar to The Girl Who Could Fly

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Why each is a match

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The Dunderheadsgrades 3–5
Shares themes of individuality and schools and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Zen and the Art of Faking Itgrades 2–8
Shares themes of individuality, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Fourth Grade Ratsgrades 4–6
Shares themes of schools, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Call Me Hopegrades 3–5
Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Mr. Lincoln's Waygrades 3–8
Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
A Bad Case of Stripesgrades 2–8
Shares themes of individuality, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
Jake and Lilygrades 3–6
Shares themes of individuality, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
All's Faire in Middle Schoolgrades 4–8
Shares themes of schools, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Crushgrades 4–8
Shares themes of schools, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Sixth Grade Nickname Gamegrades 4–6
Shares themes of schools, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Girl Who Could Fly for younger readers (K–2)

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

  • Rotten Teeth by Laura Simms · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa by Erica Silverman · grades 2–3 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down by Paul Brett Johnson · grades K–3 — Shares themes of flight and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Just Another Ordinary Day by Rod Clement · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list.

Books like The Girl Who Could Fly for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Rotten Teeth by Laura Simms · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa by Erica Silverman · grades 2–3 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down by Paul Brett Johnson · grades K–3 — Shares themes of flight and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Just Another Ordinary Day by Rod Clement · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list.

Books like The Girl Who Could Fly for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Daphne's Book by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • Eight Keys by Suzanne M. LaFleur · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Flying Solo by Ralph J. Fletcher · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Math Curse by Jon Scieszka · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8).

Books like The Girl Who Could Fly for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of schools, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • After by Francine Prose · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of individuality and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Tears of A Tiger by Sharon M. Draper · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Girl Who Could Fly?
The 10 closest matches to The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester on ReadingList include The Dunderheads, Zen and the Art of Faking It, Fourth Grade Rats, Call Me Hope, and Mr. Lincoln's Way. Each is scored on shared themes (individuality, flight, and ability), 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 Girl Who Could Fly 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.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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