What books are similar to The Incredible Journey?

The 10 closest matches to The Incredible Journey by Burnford Sheila on ReadingList include The War with Grandpa, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, El Deafo, Smile, and Wonder. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Incredible Journey reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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 Incredible Journey

If you liked The Incredible Journey, read The War with Grandpa, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, or El Deafo — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: The War with Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith

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Looking for books like The Incredible Journey by Burnford Sheila (Children's · grades 4–7)? 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 4–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The War with Grandpagrades 4–7: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+2 more shared lists), same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
El Deafo420L: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Smile410L: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
Wonder790L: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–7), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →
A Dog's Lifegrades 4–6: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Bud, Not Buddy950L: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Hatchet1020L: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Holes660L: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+2 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Kavik the Wolf Doggrades 4–8: Both on the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Incredible Journey for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang by Ian Fleming · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine by Raymond Abrashkin · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Danny Dunn on the Ocean Floor by Raymond Abrashkin · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Driver's Ed by Caroline B. Cooney · grades 4–6 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–6).
John F. Kennedy and PT-109 by Richard Tregaskis · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like The Incredible Journey for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang by Ian Fleming · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine by Raymond Abrashkin · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Danny Dunn on the Ocean Floor by Raymond Abrashkin · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Driver's Ed by Caroline B. Cooney · grades 4–6 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–6).
John F. Kennedy and PT-109 by Richard Tregaskis · grades 4–7 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like The Incredible Journey for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Crazy by Han Nolan · grades 9–12 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
Four by Veronica Roth · grades 9–12 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer · grades 9–12 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard · grades 9–12 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).
This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith · grades 9–12 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Incredible Journey?: The 10 closest matches to The Incredible Journey by Burnford Sheila on ReadingList include The War with Grandpa, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, El Deafo, Smile, and Wonder. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Incredible Journey reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–7), 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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