Books like The Man Who Loved Clowns

If you liked The Man Who Loved Clowns, read The Doll in the Garden, Time for Andrew, or Dork in Disguise — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

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Looking for books like The Man Who Loved Clowns by June Rae Wood (Juvenile Fiction · grades 4–6)? 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 Man Who Loved Clowns

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Why each is a match

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The Doll in the Gardengrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Time for Andrewgrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Dork in Disguisegrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Ramona the Bravegrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Girl with the Silver Eyesgrades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
White Bird: A Wonder Story (A Graphic Novel)grades 4–6
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Donutheadgrades 3–8
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Kavik the Wolf Doggrades 4–8
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Landry Newsgrades 3–8
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost Sittergrades 3–8
Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Man Who Loved Clowns for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • The Report Card by Andrew Clements · grades 3–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • A Million Ways Home by Dianna Dorisi-Winget · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo · 610L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–5).
  • Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like The Man Who Loved Clowns for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • The Report Card by Andrew Clements · grades 3–8 — Both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, same genre (Juvenile Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • A Million Ways Home by Dianna Dorisi-Winget · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Man Who Loved Clowns?
The 10 closest matches to The Man Who Loved Clowns by June Rae Wood on ReadingList include The Doll in the Garden, Time for Andrew, Dork in Disguise, Ramona the Brave, and The Girl with the Silver Eyes. Each is scored on shared themes, 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 Man Who Loved Clowns 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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