What books are similar to The Hand-Me-Down Kid?

The 10 closest matches to The Hand-Me-Down Kid by Francine Pascal on ReadingList include Bones on Black Spruce Mountain, Fifteen, Jennifer Murdley's Toad, Kavik the Wolf Dog, and Kid Power. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 Hand-Me-Down Kid 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 Hand-Me-Down Kid

If you liked The Hand-Me-Down Kid, read Bones on Black Spruce Mountain, Fifteen, or Jennifer Murdley's Toad — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Bones on Black Spruce Mountain by David Budbill

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Looking for books like The Hand-Me-Down Kid by Francine Pascal (Juvenile Fiction · grades 4–8)? 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Bones on Black Spruce Mountaingrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Fifteengrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Jennifer Murdley's Toadgrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Kavik the Wolf Doggrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Kid Powergrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Boggart and the Monstergrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Castle in the Attic (35th Anniversary Edition)grades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Toothpaste Millionairegrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Time for Andrewgrades 4–6: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Where It Stops, Nobody Knowsgrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →

Common questions

What books are similar to The Hand-Me-Down Kid?: The 10 closest matches to The Hand-Me-Down Kid by Francine Pascal on ReadingList include Bones on Black Spruce Mountain, Fifteen, Jennifer Murdley's Toad, Kavik the Wolf Dog, and Kid Power. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 Hand-Me-Down Kid 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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Books like The Hand-Me-Down Kid

10 books similar to The Hand-Me-Down Kid

Why each is a match

Common questions

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