Books like Heart and Soul
Looking for books like Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson? The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, 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 4–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to Heart and Soul
11 BirthdaysWendy Mass
1919 The Year That Changed AmericaMartin W. Sandler- A Band of AngelsDeborah Hopkinson
A Boy Called BatElana K. Arnold
A Corner of the UniverseAnn M. Martin- A Corner of WhiteJaclyn Moriarty
- A Dog Called HomelessSarah Lean
A Few Red DropsClaire Hartfield- A Light in the Dark (Dark Stars Book 2)A. K. Duboff
A Long Walk to WaterLinda Sue Park · 720L
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Why each is a match
- 11 Birthdaysgrades 3–5
- Overlapping grades (3–5) and the same era (2010s).
- 1919 The Year That Changed Americagrades 7–12
- Overlapping grades (7–12) and the same era (2010s).
- A Band of Angelsgrades K–5
- Overlapping grades (K–5) and the same era (2010s).
- A Boy Called Batgrades 3–5
- Overlapping grades (3–5) and the same era (2010s).
- A Corner of the Universegrades 5–8
- Overlapping grades (5–8) and the same era (2010s).
- A Corner of Whitegrades 5–12
- Overlapping grades (5–12) and the same era (2010s).
- A Dog Called Homelessgrades 3–6
- Overlapping grades (3–6) and the same era (2010s).
- A Few Red Dropsgrades 7–12
- Overlapping grades (7–12) and the same era (2010s).
- A Light in the Dark (Dark Stars Book 2)grades 5–12
- Overlapping grades (5–12) and the same era (2010s).
- A Long Walk to Water720L
- Overlapping grades (5–8) and the same era (2010s).