Books like 'Randy Riley's Really Big Hit'
Readers who enjoyed Randy Riley's Really Big Hit by Chris Van Dusen also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi action / adventure space sports robots family children humor
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Spaced Out by Stuart Gibbs
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this New York Times bestselling novel the moon base commander has gone missing and Dash Gibson is on the case. The second mind-boggling mystery of the Moon Base Alpha series from beloved author Stuart Gibbs.There’s nowhere to hide on the world’s first moon base. After all, it’s only the size of a soccer field... -
The Complete Stories, Vol. 1 by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe first volume consists of the stories previously collected in Earth Is Room Enough, Nine Tomorrows, and Nightfall and Other Stories (but not the commentary from Nightfall and Other Stories). Volume One contains the following 48 short stories:- The Dead Past- The Foundation of S. F... -
Are You Scared, Darth Vader? by Adam Rex
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt's midnight and the moon is full, but Darth Vader isn't scared. OF COURSE I AM NOT SCARED. Nothing can scare Lord Vader! CORRECT. Not monsters or witches or ghosts, and especially not the dark. So what is Darth Vader scared of? Read on in Adam Rex's hilarious and spooky Star Wars tale to find out! YOU WILL LEARN NOTHING... -
The Champion by Scott Sigler
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsTHE CHAMPION is the fifth book in the Galactic Football League series.Seven centuries in the future, the sport of American football has never been bigger, never been faster, never been more lethal. Trillions of fans from all over the galaxy watch six unique races battle in contests so violent that deaths are part of the stat sheet... -
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A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNew York Times bestseller * Best Book of the Year from The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library The One and Only Ivan meets The Wild Robot in this unique and deeply moving middle grade novel about the journey of a fictional Mars rover, from the Newbery Honor–winning author of Other Words for Home... -
Breakaway by Craig Alanson, R.C. Bray
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Expeditionary Force saga continues with Breakaway, the eagerly awaited sequel to number-one Audible-ranked and New York Times best-selling Brushfire, from an epic sci-fi writer at the top of his game. Join the millions of listeners who have enjoyed R.C. Bray’s hilarious portrayal of Joe, Skippy, The Merry Band of Pirates and so many other unforgettable characters... -
Memento by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff comes an Illuminae prequel digital novella that gives readers a hair-raising glimpse into the calamity that befell the invincible AI system known as AIDAN–and the daring young programmer who would risk her life to keep it from crashing.AIDAN is the AI you’ll love to hate... -
Phoenix by S.F. Said
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA boy with unprecedented power must turn to the terrifying Alien enemies of humanity to discover his true nature and bring peace to a galaxy at war.Lucky lives a relatively normal life on a remote moon of the planet Aries One, safe from the turmoil and devastation of the interstellar war between Humans and Aliens... -
Randoms by David Liss
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA science fiction superfan finds himself on his very own space adventure when he’s randomly selected to join an alien confederacy in this hilarious middle grade debut novel.Zeke Reynolds comes from a long line of proud science fiction geeks. He knows his games, comics, movies, and TV shows like Captain Kirk knows the starship Enterprise... -
Earth Husbands are Odd by Lyn Gala
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMax, the stranded Earth pilot, and Rick, his tentacled partner in love, are forced to return to a universe that dismisses Rick as an asymmetrical, loud outcast. But Rick hasn't told Max the whole story. Max wants to live in a universe where his children and his lover are respected and given a chance to shine. He doesn’t know the odds are stacked against them... -
The Rookie by Scott Sigler
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsSet in a lethal pro football league 700 years in the future, THE ROOKIE is a story that combines the intense gridiron action of "Any Given Sunday" with the space opera style of "Star Wars" and the criminal underworld of "The Godfather... -
Compulsory by Martha Wells
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsMurderbot—the sardonic, almost-homicidal, media-loving android created by Martha Wells—has proven to be one of the most popular characters in 21 st century science fiction. Everything that makes this protagonist (it would be wrong to call Murderbot a hero) beloved of fans is on display in Compulsory... -
The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet! by Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter of McFly comes a supersonic space adventure filled with planets, poop, and pandemonium!One boy, one space rocket, one very hungry dinosaur: the ingredients for an explosive space adventure of epic poop-portions! But when Danny realizes he’s forgotten Dino’s lunch box, the very hungry dinosaur eats everything in sight, including their only way home: the... -
Neogenesis by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMenace from Back Space Looming out of the Dust of TimeThe Complex Logic Laws were the result of a war waged hundreds of years in the past, when two human powers threw massive AI navies at each other and nearly annihilated themselves... -
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Doctor Who: Nothing O'Clock by Neil Gaiman
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThousands of years ago, Time Lords built a Prison for the Kin. They made it utterly impregnable and unreachable. As long as Time Lords existed, the Kin would be trapped forever and the universe would be safe. They had planned for everything… everything, that is, other than the Time War and the fall of Gallifrey... -
E. T. - The Extra-Terrestrial by William Kotzwinkle
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBased on the screenplay by Melissa Mathison.What do you do when you're lost, millions of miles from home, surrounded by frightening creatures?You do what the Old Botanist did when he was accidentally left behind on Earth. First you find a friend.. -
The Space Child's Mother Goose by Frederick Winsor
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOnly a few years ago (1950s) we walked on solid earth. Today we whirl through space. Space is big. It is not cozy. But with these verses and drawings... cheerfulness breaks in. Suddenly, science seems merry. And space begins, with the rhyme on page 1, to feel a little more like home. A witty collection of 1950's space age poetry accompanied by clever black and white line drawings by Marian Parry... -
Star Wars: The Galaxy Needs You by Caitlin Kennedy
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHave you ever stopped to think about how there is nobody else in the galaxy who is exactly like you? This empowering picture book celebrates young heroes-in-the-making and features illustrations that follow Rey on her own hero's journey... -
The Countdown Conspiracy by Katie Slivensky
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAmbassador, you are go for launch in T- minus 5…4…3…2…. Get ready to blast off with this high-action, high-stakes middle grade adventure that’s perfect for fans of Chris Grabenstein and Peter Lerangis!Miranda Regent can’t believe she was just chosen as one of six kids from around the world to train for the first ever mission to Mars...Categorized as:
children family action-adventure book children-books fiction friendship middle-grade -
The Rider (Galactic Football League Novellas #4) by Scott Sigler
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsArmored little people riding armored dinosaurs in a full-contact bloodsport? Welcome to Dinolition, the biggest show in the galaxy. Star rider Poughkeepsie Pete and his T-Rex mount “Old Bess” are fixtures of a league struggling to reach profitability and gain intergalactic recognition, to be thought of as something other than circus-freak sideshows... -
Beware! Space Junk! by Geronimo Stilton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSpacemouse Geronimo Stiltonix's adventures are out of this world!MouseStar 1 is surrounded by floating space junk! It's yucky -- and dangerous. Geronimo Stiltonix tracks down the source of the junk, and meets very wasteful aliens... -
Hackles and a Honeymoon by Poppy Rhys
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat happens when an off-planet work trip turns into a sham honeymoon with a fake alien husband? I, Birdie Clayton, a travel agent with a crippling fear of flying and a pile of debt, never thought I'd be doomed to face my worst phobia to avoid getting fired.Yet here I am, lightyears from home and touching alien grass.Everything was running as expected until Omen Bainbridge barged into my life... -
Lights on Wonder Rock by David Litchfield
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHeather wants more than anything to go to outer space, where the stars sparkle with magic and wonder. When a UFO lands behind her house and she meets a friendly alien, it seems that all of her dreams have come true. But soon her new friend has to return home... -
The Smeds and the Smoos by Julia Donaldson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSoar into space with this glorious love story of alien folk, from the creators of The Gruffalo and Stick Man . The Smeds (who are red) never mix with the Smoos (who are blue). So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love, their families strongly disapprove. But peace is restored and love conquers all in this happiest of love stories... -
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The General's Mate by C.W. Gray
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWelcome back to the Blue Solace: (Sequel to "The Mercenary's Mate") Leti Ando and Will Hackett are certain about one thing in all the galaxy. They love one another. Now that they are mated, it's time to meet Hack's parents and settle into their new home. In a normal courtship, the two would spend time getting to know one another and reveling in their love. Normal isn't what they get... -
The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen a boy discovers a single-propeller airplane in his closet, he does what any young adventurer would do: He flies it into outer space! Millions of miles from Earth, the plane begins to sputter and quake, its fuel tank on empty. The boy executes a daring landing on the moon . . -
Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis humorous tale describes how aliens, rather than visiting Earth to take over the planet, really visit to steal your pants... -
Zhoryan's Game by Michele Mills
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHe’s an arrogant, celebrity warlord who thinks marriage and snot-nosed children sound like the lowest level of hell. She’s the filthy-mouthed daughter of a High Priest who wants LOTS OF KIDS. When their deck explodes they rush into the same executive escape pod and eventually crash-land together on a mysterious planet. Without food and water. Without any way to communicate with their ship... -
Star Wars: 5-Minute Star Wars Stories by Rebecca L. Schmidt, Brooke Dworkin
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBlast off into hyperspace with these eleven action-packed Star Wars tales! Jedi Master Yoda has a lightsaber showdown with the dreaded Count Dooku; Luke Skywalker and the Rebels race against time to destroy the Death Star; and the brave Rey makes a new friend when she meets the droid BB-8... -
The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis is what the boy is told:• He woke up on planet Trucon, inside a fence he shouldn't have been able to pass.• He has an annirad blaster wound to the back of his head.• He has no memory.• He is now under the protection of a mysterious benefactor.• His name is Chase Garrety.This is what Chase Garrety knows:• He has a message: "Guide the star."• Time is running out... -
The Many Worlds of Albie Bright by Christopher Edge
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFun science meets humor and heart in this adventure about a boy who is searching for his mother . . . in a parallel universe.Stephen Albie Bright leads a happy, normal life. Well, as normal as it gets with two astrophysicist parents who named their son after their favorite scientists, Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein. But then Albie's mother dies of cancer, and his world is shattered... -
A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy by Alexandra Bracken
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe galaxy is at war.Although the Rebel Alliance has won a few battles against the Empire, hope is fading. The Empire is about to unveil the greatest weapon the galaxy has ever seen--the Death Star. The Rebels' only chance to defeat it now lies in the unlikely hands of a princess, a scoundrel, and a farm boy... -
The Stolen Moon by Rachel Searles
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe action-packed sequel to The Lost Planet.This is what the boy is told:- His younger sister has an otherworldly (and sometimes annoying) ability.- The starship he now lives on has been infiltrated.- His friend Parker is working on the network hack of a lifetime.This is what Chase and Parker fear:- They won't be able to save the world in time... -
Mothstorm by Philip Reeve
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA sinister cloud had appeared on the edge of the Solar System, and seemed to be moving closer. Rather than sit idly by, my family and I decided that we should investigate whatever monstrous force of darkness hid within... -
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We're Not from Here by Geoff Rodkey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsImagine being forced to move to a new planet where YOU are the alien! From the creator of the Tapper Twins, New York Times bestselling author Geoff Rodkey delivers a topical, sci-fi middle-grade novel that proves friendship and laughter can transcend even a galaxy of differences. The first time I heard about Planet Choom, we'd been on Mars for almost a year... -
It's Only Stanley by Jon Agee
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFans of Jon Klassen and Oliver Jeffers will love this mischievously funny read-aloud from award-winning author/illustrator Jon AgeeMysterious noises keep waking up the Wimbledon family. "That's very odd," says Mr. Wimbledon each time, but when he returns from checking on the sounds, he's always reassuring: "It's only Stanley; he's fixing the oil tank... -
Mars Evacuees by Sophia McDougall
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe fact that someone had decided I would be safer on Mars, where you could still only SORT OF breathe the air and SORT OF not get sunburned to death, was a sign that the war with the aliens was not going fantastically well.I’d been worried I was about to be told that my mother’s spacefighter had been shot down, so when I found out that I was being evacuated to Mars, I was pretty calm... -
The Search for Snout by Bruce Coville
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSomewhere Snout is waiting.Rod Allbright and his alien friends face the biggest mystery of their lives: where in the wide, wide galaxy is their missing friend Snout, the Master of the Mental Arts?Their death-defying search for their friend leads them across the stars to the Mentat, the mysterious home of the Mental Masters. But the clues they uncover there only deepen the mystery — and the danger... -
Man On The Moon by Simon Bartram
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBeginning with an introduction to the history of mosaics, colour and design are explored in mosaic-making, across the full range of equipment, materials and tesserae on offer... -
The Jamie Drake Equation by Christopher Edge
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright comes another cutting-edge cosmic space adventure for anyone who's ever looked up at the stars and wondered about the universe. An exploration of the constellations, an appreciation of the courage of astronauts, and a loving father-son story. Perfect for fans of Scott Kelly's Astrotwins series... -
Earth to Clunk by Pam Smallcomb
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat do you send your alien pen pal Clunk to make it clear you do not want an alien pen pal? You send him your big sister. That'll teach Clunk to have a pen pal from Earth-or so our intrepid narrator thinks. But then Clunk sends him a Zoid, an exasperating Zoid that follows him everywhere... -
Deep Space Accountant by Mjke Wood
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCould this be the worst job interview in the entire history of the universe? Possibly. So when Elton D Philpotts lands his dream Space Corps accountancy job he can’t help wondering how it happened. And why.Somebody in the Space Corps must need him, and they need him bad.But the work is dull; nothing like the glamour job he expected... -
Stowaway by John David Anderson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe first book in a coming-of-age sci-fi duology about Leo, a kid trying to navigate the galaxy in order to save his family—and, possibly, the planet Earth.When scientists discover a rare and mysterious mineral buried in the Earth’s crust, they have no idea that it just happens to be the most valuable substance in the entire universe... -
Trapped by Douglas E. Richards
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsFrom the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the adult thriller, WIRED, THE PROMETHEUS PROJECT: TRAPPED is the first book ina critically acclaimed science fiction series for kids.Ryan and Regan Resnick have just moved to the world's most boring place... -
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Life on Mars by Jon Agee
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn this picture book an intrepid but not so clever space explorer is certain he's found the only living thing on MarsA young astronaut is absolutely sure there is life to be found on Mars. He sets off on a solitary mission, determined to prove the naysayers wrong. But when he arrives, equipped with a package of cupcakes as a gift, he sees nothing but a nearly barren planet... -
Artificial Condition [Dramatized Adaptation] by Martha Wells, Nathanial Perry
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsArtificial Condition is the follow-up to Martha Wells's Hugo, Nebula, Alex, and Locus Award-winning, New York Times bestselling All Systems Red.It has a dark past—one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more... -
Aye, Robot by Robert Kroese
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter interstellar con man Rex Nihilo hijacks a cargo freighter on a whim, he decides that he and his long-suffering robot sidekick Sasha have found their calling as space pirates... -
Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA one-of-a-kind story of heart, humor, and finding one’s place in the universe.Prez knows that the best way to keep track of things is to make a list. That's important when you have a grandfather who is constantly forgetting. And it's even more important when your grandfather can't care for you anymore and you have to go live with a foster family out in the country... -
Hello, Nebulon! by Ray O'Ryan
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsGet to know Galaxy Zack—and his new home planet!In Hello, Nebulon!, Zack makes the big move from Earth... -
Smek for President! by Adam Rex, Άνταμ Ρεξ
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn this much-anticipated sequel to The True Meaning of Smekday, which inspired the blockbuster feature film Home, Tip and J.Lo are back for another hilarious intergalactic adventure!After Tip and J.Lo banished the Gorg from Earth, the pair is notorious—but not for their heroics. Instead, human Dan Landry has taken credit for conquering the Gorg, and the aliens known as the Boov blame J...
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