Families who loved Where I'd Like To Be by Frances O'Roark Dowell often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.

Reach for this book when your child is grappling with questions of belonging, particularly if they feel their family structure or living situation is different from their peers. It is a gentle yet profound resource for children navigating the foster system, adoption, or simply the feeling of being an outsider looking for their 'tribe.' The story follows twelve-year-old Maddie at a children's home in East Tennessee. While she treasures a 'book of houses' filled with magazine clippings of dream homes, her reality changes when she meets Murphy, a girl with a wild imagination. Through their friendship and the construction of a physical playhouse in the woods, the children learn that 'home' is less about a building and more about the people who truly see you. It is a realistic, secular, and deeply hopeful look at resilience and the power of creative expression.