What books are similar to The Port Chicago 50?

The 10 closest matches to The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin on ReadingList include Most Dangerous, The Notorious Benedict Arnold, Abigail Adams, Black Enough, and Blink and Caution. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–10), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Port Chicago 50 reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–10), 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 Port Chicago 50

If you liked The Port Chicago 50, read Most Dangerous, The Notorious Benedict Arnold, or Abigail Adams — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Most Dangerous by Steve Sheinkin

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Looking for books like The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin (Children's · grades 4–10)? 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 4–10 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Most Dangerousgrades 4–10: Is by Steve Sheinkin, the same author, both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, and same genre (Children's). Amazon → books like this →
The Notorious Benedict Arnoldgrades 4–10: Is by Steve Sheinkin, the same author, both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, and same genre (Children's). Amazon → books like this →
Abigail Adamsgrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Black Enoughgrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Blink and Cautiongrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Cartwheeling in Thunderstormsgrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Carvergrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Eleanor & Parkgrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Electric Bengrades 4–10: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Grasshopper Junglegrades 4–9: Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Port Chicago 50 for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Humbug Mountain by Sid Fleischman · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Infinite Hope by Ashley Bryan · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I by M. T. Anderson · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

Books like The Port Chicago 50 for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Humbug Mountain by Sid Fleischman · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Infinite Hope by Ashley Bryan · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I by M. T. Anderson · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

Books like The Port Chicago 50 for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Humbug Mountain by Sid Fleischman · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
Infinite Hope by Ashley Bryan · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I by M. T. Anderson · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming · grades 4–10 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge · grades 4–9 — Both on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Port Chicago 50?: The 10 closest matches to The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin on ReadingList include Most Dangerous, The Notorious Benedict Arnold, Abigail Adams, Black Enough, and Blink and Caution. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–10), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Port Chicago 50 reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–10), 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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