Books like 'The Rainbow Troops'
Readers who enjoyed The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary action / adventure children journey friendship drama classics literary-fiction bildungsroman family
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Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsAn utterly wonderful debut novel of love, crime, magic, fate and a boy’s coming of age, set in 1980s Australia and infused with the originality, charm, pathos, and heart of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.The mind can take you anywhere you want to goEli Bell’s life is complicated...Categorized as:
bildungsroman coming-of-age drama family friendship historical-fiction humor literary-fiction -
내 토끼가 또 사라졌어! by Mo Willems
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsKorean edition of the last story of Knuffle Bunny series, KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE: An Unexpected Diversion by Mo Willems, the author of a three-time Caldecott Honor winner (for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny, and Knuffle Bunny Too)...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family friendship humor 21st-century action-adventure -
Captains of the Sands by Jorge Amado
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLiving by their wits in the steamy slums of Bahia, a gang of orphans and runaways, led by fifteen-year-old "Bullet," spend their time stealing from Brazil's rich and privileged until public outcry demands their capture...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama historical-fiction journey literary-fiction 20th-century -
Islandborn by Junot Díaz
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEvery kid in Lola's school was from somewhere else. Hers was a school of faraway places. So when Lola's teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, all the kids are excited. Except Lola. She can't remember The Island—she left when she was just a baby... -
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If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe much-anticipated follow-up to the E. B. White Award-winning picture book If I Built a CarIn If I Built a Car, imaginative Jack dreamed up a whimsical fantasy ride that could do just about anything. Now he's back and ready to build the house of his dreams, complete with a racetrack, flying room, and gigantic slide... -
The End of Loneliness by Benedict Wells
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFrom internationally bestselling author Benedict Wells, a sweeping novel of love and loss, and of the lives we never get to live.Jules Moreau’s childhood is shattered after the sudden death of his parents...Categorized as:
bildungsroman classics coming-of-age drama family friendship journey literary-fiction -
Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratings-Readers, librarians, and all those books that have drawn a challenge have a brand new hero.... Stand up and cheer, book lovers. This one's for you...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction humor poc-mc action-adventure -
Si llevas un raton a la escuela by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThe Barnes & Noble ReviewBringing a plucky mouse to school isn't the wisest idea, no matter how much fun it might seem. Thankfully, the bestselling duo of author Laura Numeroff and illustrator Felicia Bond -- creators of If You Take a Mouse to the Movies and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie -- have teamed up to show us the hijinks a whiskered school guest could cause... -
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsHave you ever dreamed of being locked in a department store at night? The endearing story of Corduroy paints a picture of the adventures that might unfold (for a teddy bear at least) in such a situation. When all the shoppers have gone home for the night, Corduroy climbs down from the shelf to look for his missing button...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family friendship literary-fiction poc-mc 20th-century -
If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 34 ratings"If you give a pig a pancake, she'll want some syrup to go with it..." If you give a pig a pancake, she'll want some syrup to go with it. You'll give her some of your favorite maple syrup, and she'll probably get all sticky, so she'll want to take a bath. She'll ask you for some bubbles. When you give her the bubbles.. -
Fresh Water for Flowers: A Novel by Valérie Perrin
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsViolette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues—gravediggers, groundskeepers, and a priest—visit her to warm themselves in her lodge, where laughter, companionship, and occasional tears mix with the coffee she offers them. Her life is lived to the rhythms of their funny, moving confidences... -
The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi, سعود السنعوسي
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsDaring and bold, The Bamboo Stalk takes an unflinching look at the universal struggles of identity, race, and class as they intersect between two disparate societies: Kuwait and the Philippines. Josephine comes to Kuwait from the Philippines to work as a maid, where she meets Rashid, a spoiled but kind-hearted only son...Categorized as:
drama historical-fiction journey literary-fiction 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Season of Dreams by Fiona Valpy
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn this romantic tale in the Escape to France collection from bestselling author Fiona Valpy, Sara has one summer to make wedding wishes come true... -
Goat Days by Benyamin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNajeeb’s dearest wish is to work in the Gulf and earn enough money to send back home. He achieves his dream only to be propelled by a series of incidents, grim and absurd, into a slave-like existence herding goats in the middle of the Saudi desert. Memories of the lush, verdant landscape of his village and of his loving family haunt Najeeb whose only solace is the companionship of goats...Categorized as:
bildungsroman classics drama literary-fiction action-adventure adult book contemporary -
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The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe story of a train filled with toys and gifts for little boys and girls that breaks down before reaching the children. After asking several passing trains for help over the hill, a little blue train agrees to help the stranded toys. Even though she is small, the blue train tries her best to bring the toys to the children on the other side of the hill...Categorized as:
children classics family friendship literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure animals -
Leaving Blythe River by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde returns with an unforgettable story of courage. Seventeen-year-old Ethan Underwood is totally unprepared to search for his father in the Blythe River National Wilderness. Not only is he small, scrawny, and skittish but he’s barely speaking to the man after a traumatic betrayal... -
Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMelody faces her fears to follow her passion in this stunning sequel to the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling middle grade novel Out of My Mind.Melody, the huge-hearted heroine of Out of My Mind, is now a year older and a year braver. But not as brave as she wants to be, as she’s terrified of horses. Even though she loves horses—loves loves loves them—from afar... -
Night Train at Deoli and Other Stories (India) by Ruskin Bond
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn enchanting collection of stories from the heartland of IndiaRuskin Bond’s simple characters, living amidst the lush forests of the Himalayan foothills, are remarkable for their quiet heroism, courage and grace, and age-old values of honesty and fidelity... -
Edward Adrift by Craig Lancaster
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt’s been a year of upheaval for Edward Stanton, a forty-two-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome. He’s lost his job. His trusted therapist has retired. His best friends have moved away. And even his nightly ritual of watching Dragnet reruns has been disrupted. All of this change has left Edward, who lives his life on a rigid schedule, completely flummoxed... -
No, David! by David Shannon
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWhen author and artist David Shannon was five years old, he wrote a semi-autobiographical story of a little kid who broke all his mother's rules. He chewed with his mouth open, jumped on the furniture, and he broke his mother's vase... -
The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIllustrated in full color, Mr. and Mrs. Bird's search for a "better" nest leads them to some peculiar spots.In this NOOK kids Read to Me book, children can choose to hear the story read aloud, tap to enlarge text and pinch & stretch to zoom in on pictures... -
The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsShortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award‘A therapeutic dose of high-strength emotion’ GUARDIAN Augusta Hope has never felt like she fits in.At six, she’s memorising the dictionary. At seven, she’s correcting her teachers. At eight, she spins the globe and picks her favourite country on the sound of its name: Burundi...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family friendship literary-fiction action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Truce by Mario Benedetti
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratings'Perhaps that moment had been exceptional, but still, I felt alive. That pressure on my chest means being alive.' Forty-nine, with a kind face, no serious ailments (apart from varicose veins on his ankles), a good salary, and three moody children, widowed accountant Martín Santomé is about to retire. He assumes he'll take up gardening, or the guitar, or whatever retired people generally do...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama journey literary-fiction poc-mc 20th-century action-adventure -
The Havoc of Choice by Wanjiru Koinange
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings2007, KenyaLong held captive by her father’s shadow of corruption, Kavata has spent her life suffocated by political machinations. When her husband decides to run in the next election, these shadows threaten to consume her home. Unable to bear this darkness,Kavata plots to escape. As her family falls apart, so too does her country...Categorized as:
historical-fiction journey literary-fiction family fiction politics contemporary corruption -
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Dear Rosie Hughes by Melanie Hudson
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA long lost friendship reconnected in letters, laughs and unforgettable life lessons… The best friendships are worth fighting for…It’s been fifteen years since Aggie’s friendship with Rosie Hughes ended abruptly. But now she’s heard from the village rumour mill that Rosie is off to war, she knows her best friend needs her more than ever – despite what’s happened between them in the past...Categorized as:
family friendship historical-fiction humor literary-fiction action-adventure adult book -
Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsFour gems, with new introductions, mark acclaimed Indian writer R. K. Narayan’s centennialIntroducing this collection of stories, R. K. Narayan describes how in India “the writer has only to look out of the window to pick up a character and thereby a story... -
George and Martha by James Marshall
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTwo lovable hippos teach the meaning of friendship in five separate vignettes: "Split Pea Soup," "The Flying Machine," "The Tub," "The Mirror," "The Tooth... -
The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHelen DeWitt's extraordinary debut, The Last Samurai, centers on the relationship between Sibylla, a single mother of precocious and rigorous intelligence, and her son, who, owing to his mother's singular attitude to education, develops into a prodigy of learning... -
Picture Perfect by Holly Smale
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"My name is Harriet Manners, and I'll always be a geek." It's the hilarious third book in the No.1 bestselling, award winning GEEK GIRL series! Harriet Manners knows more facts that most. She knows that New York is the most populous city in the United States. She knows that its official motto is "Ever Upward". She knows that 28% of Americans believe we never landed on the moon... -
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman by Julietta Henderson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA triumphant and touching debut about the unlikeliest superstar you’ll ever meet.Twelve-year-old Norman Foreman and his best friend, Jax, are a legendary comedic duo in waiting, with a plan to take their act all the way to the Edinburgh Fringe. But when Jax dies, Norman decides the only fitting tribute is to perform at the festival himself. The problem is, Norman’s not the funny one. Jax was... -
Nous rêvions juste de liberté by Henri Lœvenbruck
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratings« Nous avions à peine vingt ans et nous rêvions juste de liberté. » Ce rêve, la bande d'Hugo va l'exaucer en fuyant la petite ville de Providence pour traverser le pays à moto. Ensemble, ils vont former un clan où l'indépendance et l'amitié règnent en maîtres. Ensemble ils vont, pour le meilleur et pour le pire, découvrir que la liberté se paie cher...Categorized as:
drama journey children literary-fiction fiction audiobook action-adventure male-author -
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsFrom the internationally best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author, a superbly crafted new work of fiction: eight stories—longer and more emotionally complex than any she has yet written—that take us from Cambridge and Seattle to India and Thailand as they enter the lives of sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers, daughters and sons, friends and lovers...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction poc-mc -
The Time of the Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSet among a community of cadets in a Lima military school, it is notable for its experimental and complex employment of multiple perspectives. The novel was so accurate in its portraiture of the academy that the academy's authorities burned one thousand copies and condemned the book as a plan by Ecuador to denigrate Peru...Categorized as:
bildungsroman classics coming-of-age drama historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc 20th-century -
My Friends by Hisham Matar
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA young man leaves behind more than he realizes to follow his passions in this major, luminous novel of friendship, family, and the unthinkable realities of exile from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Return.The trick time plays is to lull us into the belief that everything lasts forever, and although nothing does, we continue, inside our dream...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction friendship family journey coming-of-age africa northern-africa -
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From Afar by Frank Scozzari
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor centuries, poets have argued that unrequited love is love in its strongest form. From Afar is a timeless tale of Morgan Stanfield’s search for love in the far northern city of Saint Petersburg, Russia...Categorized as:
coming-of-age journey literary-fiction action-adventure adult book contemporary fiction -
Everything Is Just Beginning by Erin Bartels
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn Immersive Story of Music, Struggle, and Starting Over from an Award-Winning AuthorMichael Sullivan is a talented lyricist and a decent guitarist, but since he was kicked out of his band (and his apartment), he's not sure he'll ever get a record deal. Living with his loser uncle in a beat-up trailer and working a dead-end job, Michael has little reason to hope for a better future...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age friendship family drama literary-fiction romance christian -
Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFroggy's mother knows that everyone's nervous on the first day of school. "Not me!" says Froggy, and together they leapfrog to the bus stop -- flop flop flop. Froggy's exuberant antics, complete with sound effects, will delight his many fans and reassure them that school can be fun."This is a great read-aloud with sounds and words that encourage active participation... -
Bound to be Bad by Annie Barrows
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe adventures of Ivy and Bean continue in the latest installment from series creators Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall. In Ivy and Bean Bound to Be Bad the two girls decide to be so good and kind and pure of thought that wild animals will befriend them. When this doesn't work, they decide that perhaps a little badness can be good... -
Someone to Run With by David Grossman
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe story of a lost dog, and the discovery of first love on the streets of Jerusalem are portrayed here with a gritty realism that is as fresh as it is compelling...Categorized as:
bildungsroman children classics coming-of-age drama literary-fiction 21st-century action-adventure -
The Disoriented by Amin Maalouf
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAfter 25 years in exile, Adam travels from France to his homeland in the Middle East to bid farewell to his dying childhood friend.One night, a phone rings in Paris. Adam learns that Mourad, once his closest friend, is dying. He quickly throws some clothes in a suitcase and takes the first flight out, to the homeland he fled twenty-five years ago...Categorized as:
drama friendship historical-fiction journey literary-fiction action-adventure adult book -
The Lost Girls of Ireland by Susanne O'Leary
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA heart-warming story about family secrets and one woman’s escape to dreamy Sandy Cove on the stunning west coast of Ireland.The picturesque beach of Wild Rose Bay is the last place Lydia Butler thought she’d be. But having just lost everything, the run-down cottage she inherited from her Great Aunt Nellie is the only place she can take her daughter, Sunny... -
The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe Room on the Roof is a timeless coming-of-age novel that will resonate with a whole new generation of readers. Written by renowned author Ruskin Bond when he was just seventeen, it is the story of Rusty, a teenage Anglo-Indian boy who is orphaned and has to live with his English guardian in the stifling European quarter of Dehra Dun...Categorized as:
bildungsroman children classics coming-of-age drama friendship humor literary-fiction -
Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda, Alison Anderson
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCamille is doing her best to disappear. She barely eats, works at night as a cleaner and lives in a tiny attic room. Downstairs in a beautiful, ornate apartment, lives Philibert Marquet de la Durbellière, a shy, erudite, upper-class man with an unlikely flatmate in the shape of the foul-mouthed but talented chef, Franck...Categorized as:
drama family friendship humor journey literary-fiction 21st-century action-adventure -
The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe first of his family to go to college, Anil Patel, the golden son, carries the weight of tradition and his family’s expectations when he leaves his tiny Indian village to begin a medical residency in Dallas, Texas, at one of the busiest and most competitive hospitals in America...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction poc-mc action-adventure -
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Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy E. Shaw
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA flock of hapless sheep drive through the country in this rhyming picture book... -
Bloomability by Sharon Creech
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsKidnapped!The kidnappers are actually her Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max, but that doesn't matter to Domenica Santolina Doone, better known as Dinnie. She feels as if she's being taken out of the country against her will. Certainly no one asked her opinion. Dinnie is used to change-with her family constantly moving from state to state while her father searches for one new "opportunity" after another... -
The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsPietro is a lonely boy living in Milan. With his parents becoming more distant each day, the only thing the family shares is their love for the Dolomites, the mountains that hug the northeastern border of Italy. While on vacation at the foot of the mountains, Pietro meets Bruno, an adventurous, spirited local boy...Categorized as:
bildungsroman classics coming-of-age drama family friendship journey literary-fiction -
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsTalk about unlucky sevens. An hour ago, seventeen-year-old, seven months pregnant Novalee Nation was heading for California with her boyfriend. Now she finds herself stranded at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, with just $7.77 in change...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family friendship historical-fiction humor literary-fiction -
Beany & the Beckoning Road by Lenora Mattingly Weber
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBeany and the Beckoning Road (1952). Beany believes that she has lost Norbett to another girl: Cynthia. She and Johnny plan to drive from Denver to California to return their nephew to his parents and advertise for passengers to share the travel expenses. What a surprise for Beany when she discovers that one of the passengers is Cynthia...Categorized as:
children family friendship historical-fiction action-adventure book contemporary female-author -
Open for Business (The Once in a Blue Moon Guesthouse) by Cressida McLaughlin
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA warm welcome awaits…the charming new arrival from the No.1 bestselling author of The Canal Boat Cafe. Robin Brennan has come home to Campion Bay. Now her parents have retired, she’s set to become the new landlady of The Campion Bay Guesthouse.Bookings have been as thin as the hand towels, and it doesn’t take long for Robin to realise that the place needs a serious makeover...
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