Books like The Penderwicks

If you liked The Penderwicks, read A Mango-Shaped Space, Rules, or Brown Girl Dreaming — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

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Looking for books like The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall? 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.

10 books similar to The Penderwicks

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Why each is a match

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A Mango-Shaped Spacegrades 5–8
Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (5–8), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Rulesgrades 4–7
Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (2000s). Amazon → books like this →
Brown Girl Dreaming990L
Both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
El Deafo420L
Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Librarygrades 4–6
Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Fish in a Tree550L
Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost730L
Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone880L
Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
New Kidgrades 4–8
Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Out of My Mind700L
Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →

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

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

  • Superfudge by Judy Blume · grades 3–6 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 3–7 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7).
  • The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7).
  • When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson · grades 5–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–8).
  • Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7).

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

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

  • Superfudge by Judy Blume · grades 3–6 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt · grades 3–7 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7).
  • The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate · 570L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7).
  • When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson · grades 5–8 — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (5–8).
  • Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Both on the Great Lakes Great Books Award list (+1 more shared list) and overlapping grades (3–7).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Penderwicks?
The 10 closest matches to The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall on ReadingList include A Mango-Shaped Space, Rules, Brown Girl Dreaming, El Deafo, and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. 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 Penderwicks 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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