Books like The Pinballs

If you liked The Pinballs, read The Computer Nut, Cracker Jackson, or How to Eat Fried Worms — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The Computer Nut by Betsy Cromer Byars

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Looking for books like The Pinballs by Betsy Cromer Byars (Realistic Fiction · grades 4–6)? It’s most often read for its themes of foster home care, friendship, and friendship in 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 4–6 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Pinballs

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Why each is a match

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The Computer Nutgrades 4–6
Is by Betsy Cromer Byars, the same author, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Cracker Jacksongrades 4–8
Is by Betsy Cromer Byars, the same author, both on the William Allen White Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
How to Eat Fried Wormsgrades 3–6
Shares themes of friendship, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
All About Samgrades 4–6
Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Shiloh890L
Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost on Saturday Nightgrades 4–6
Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →
Because of Winn-Dixie610L
Shares themes of friendship, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+4 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Wonder790L
Shares themes of friendship, both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
Losergrades 4–6
Both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH790L
Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (1970s). Amazon → books like this →

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

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

  • My Dog, My Hero by Betsy Cromer Byars · grades 3–5 — Is by Betsy Cromer Byars, the same author, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5).
  • Tornado by Betsy Cromer Byars · grades 3–6 — Is by Betsy Cromer Byars, the same author, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • Number the Stars by Lois Lowry · 670L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7).

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

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

  • Tornado by Betsy Cromer Byars · grades 3–6 — Is by Betsy Cromer Byars, the same author, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • Number the Stars by Lois Lowry · 670L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (3–7).
  • Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls · grades 4–7 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1970s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Pinballs?
The 10 closest matches to The Pinballs by Betsy Cromer Byars on ReadingList include The Computer Nut, Cracker Jackson, How to Eat Fried Worms, All About Sam, and Shiloh. Each is scored on shared themes (foster home care, friendship, and friendship in fiction), 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 Pinballs 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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