What books are similar to The War with Grandpa?

The 10 closest matches to The War with Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith on ReadingList include Jelly Belly, The Incredible Journey, The Cursed Moon, A Dog's Life, and Six Feet Below Zero. 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 War with Grandpa 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 War with Grandpa

If you liked The War with Grandpa, read Jelly Belly, The Incredible Journey, or The Cursed Moon — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Jelly Belly by Robert Kimmel Smith

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Looking for books like The War with Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith (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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Jelly Bellygrades 4–6: Is by Robert Kimmel Smith, the same author, both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Incredible Journeygrades 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 →
The Cursed Moongrades 3–6: Both on the South Carolina Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
A Dog's Lifegrades 4–6: Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+2 more shared lists), same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Six Feet Below Zerogrades 4–6: Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (2020s). Amazon → books like this →
Creepy Carrots!grades 3–10: Both on the Nebraska Golden Sower Award list (+1 more shared list), same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (3–10). Amazon → books like this →
Ten Kids, No Petsgrades 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 →
Small Stepsgrades 4–10: Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+2 more shared lists), same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
A Bundle of Sticksgrades 4–6: Both on the Mark Twain Readers 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 California Young Reader Medal list (+6 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The War with Grandpa for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester · grades K–3 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists).
Chez Bob by Bob Shea · grades K–2 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2020s).
How to Stay Invisible by Maggie C. Rudd · grades 2–8 — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (2020s).

Books like The War with Grandpa for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+4 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–6).
Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–6).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+6 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–7).

Books like The War with Grandpa for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Holes by Louis Sachar · 660L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–7).
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Both on the Mark Twain Readers Award list (+4 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–6).
Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+3 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (4–6).
Wonder by R.J. Palacio · 790L — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+6 more shared lists) and overlapping grades (3–7).

Books like The War with Grandpa for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney · grades 9–12 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list) and same genre (Children's).
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard · grades 9–12 — Both on the California Young Reader Medal list (+2 more shared lists) and same genre (Children's).
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott · grades 9–12 — Both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, same genre (Children's), and the same era (2020s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The War with Grandpa?: The 10 closest matches to The War with Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith on ReadingList include Jelly Belly, The Incredible Journey, The Cursed Moon, A Dog's Life, and Six Feet Below Zero. 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 War with Grandpa 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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