What books are similar to Parachute Kids?

The 10 closest matches to Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang on ReadingList include Front Desk, In the Beautiful Country, When Stars Are Scattered, The War That Saved My Life, and Inside Out & Back Again. Each is scored on shared themes (immigration, family, and resilience), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Parachute Kids reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–7), 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 Parachute Kids

If you liked Parachute Kids, read Front Desk, In the Beautiful Country, or When Stars Are Scattered — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Front Desk by Kelly Yang — shares immigration and family

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Looking for books like Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang (Graphic Novel · grades 3–7)? It’s most often read for its themes of immigration, family, and resilience. 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 3–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Front Desk640L: Shares themes of immigration, family, and resilience, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
In the Beautiful Countrygrades 3–6: Shares themes of immigration, family, and resilience and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
When Stars Are Scatteredgrades 5–8: Shares themes of family, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), and same genre (Graphic Novel). Amazon → books like this →
The War That Saved My Life580L: Shares themes of family and resilience, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Inside Out & Back Again800L: Shares themes of immigration, family, and resilience and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Fish in a Tree550L: Shares themes of resilience, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
A Work in Progressgrades 4–8: Shares themes of resilience, both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Just Keep Walkinggrades 3–6: Shares themes of resilience, both on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Class Actgrades 4–8: Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, same genre (Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Other Words for Home930L: Shares themes of immigration and family, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Parachute Kids for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

Hoops by Matt Tavares · grades 3–5 — Both on the Georgia Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–5), and the same era (2020s).
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Shares themes of family, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–6).
A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga · grades 4–5 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s).
Curlfriends: New in Town (a Graphic Novel) by Sharee Miller · grades 3–8 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2020s).
Frizzy by Claribel Ortega · grades 4–5 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (4–5), and the same era (2020s).

Books like Parachute Kids for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor · 890L — Shares themes of family, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list (+2 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Curlfriends: New in Town (a Graphic Novel) by Sharee Miller · grades 3–8 — Both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), overlapping grades (3–8), and the same era (2020s).
Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of immigration, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6).
Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm · grades 3–6 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Graphic Novel), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Shares themes of family, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–7).

Books like Parachute Kids for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs · grades 9–12 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list and same genre (Graphic Novel).
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes · grades 9–12 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2020s).
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer · grades 9–12 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list and same genre (Graphic Novel).
Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Graphic Novel) and the same era (2020s).
Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard by Ronald Wimberly · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Graphic Novel) and the same era (2020s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Parachute Kids?: The 10 closest matches to Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang on ReadingList include Front Desk, In the Beautiful Country, When Stars Are Scattered, The War That Saved My Life, and Inside Out & Back Again. Each is scored on shared themes (immigration, family, and resilience), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Parachute Kids reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–7), 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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