Books like The Hot and Cold Summer

If you liked The Hot and Cold Summer, read Class Clown, My Friend the Vampire, or A Dog Called Kitty — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Class Clown by Johanna Hurwitz

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Looking for books like The Hot and Cold Summer by Johanna Hurwitz (Realistic Fiction · grades 3–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship, summer, fiction, and friendship, fiction. 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 3–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Hot and Cold Summer

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Why each is a match

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Class Clowngrades 3–5
Is by Johanna Hurwitz, the same author, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
My Friend the Vampiregrades 3–5
Shares themes of friendship and friendship, fiction, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
A Dog Called Kittygrades 3–5
Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightninggrades 3–6
Shares themes of summer, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Dogtowngrades 3–6
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It Allgrades 3–6
Shares themes of friendship, both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
El Chupacabrasgrades 3–6
Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost Fever/Mal de Fantasmagrades 3–6
Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Help Me, Mr. Mutt!grades 3–6
Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Invisible Isabelgrades 3–6
Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Hot and Cold Summer for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Memoirs of a Tortoise by Devin Scillian · grades 3–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • One Potato, Two Potato by Cynthia DeFelice · grades 3–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Postcards from Camp by Simms Taback · grades 3–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Seadogs: An Epic Ocean Operetta by Lisa Wheeler · grades 3–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).

Books like The Hot and Cold Summer for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Memoirs of a Tortoise by Devin Scillian · grades 3–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • One Potato, Two Potato by Cynthia DeFelice · grades 3–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Postcards from Camp by Simms Taback · grades 3–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Seadogs: An Epic Ocean Operetta by Lisa Wheeler · grades 3–6 — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Both on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Hot and Cold Summer?
The 10 closest matches to The Hot and Cold Summer by Johanna Hurwitz on ReadingList include Class Clown, My Friend the Vampire, A Dog Called Kitty, Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning, and Dogtown. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, summer, fiction, and friendship, fiction), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–6), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Hot and Cold Summer reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–6), 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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