Keep scrolling to the bottom of this post to enter for a chance to bring another popular middle grade series, the Dork Diaries, to your classroom!
With a total of eleven (soon to be twelve!) books in the series, four Hollywood film adaptations and millions of loyal fans, Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are beloved by students at many different grade and reading levels. But what do you recommend when these avid Wimpy Kid readers have finished every title and don’t know what to read next? Give the following books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid a chance.
Recommended Books Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid
1. Timmy Failure by Stephan Pastis
Interest Level: Grades 3-7
Stephan Pastis is a cartoonist, so like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the six graphic novels in the Timmy Failure series all feature cartoons along with text. Also appealing is the title character, an 11-year-old detective with a BIG imagination and a lazy polar bear (yes, polar bear) partner.
2. The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier
Interest Level: 3-7
Surviving a monster apocalypse isn’t easy…especially when you’re the last kids on earth. With a mix of text and illustrations, plus action and laughs, this adventure series offers lots to appeal to middle grade readers.
3. The Treehouse Adventures by Andy Griffiths
Interest Level: Grades 4-7
The thirteen-story treehouse in this illustrated chapter book series has “a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of man-eating sharks, a secret underground laboratory, a vegetable vaporizer, and a marshmallow machine that shoots marshmallows into your mouths when it sees that you are hungry.” And main characters Andy and Terry live there. What kid wouldn’t be intrigued by that?
4. The Origami Yoda Files by Tom Angelberger
Interest Level: Grades 4-7
For students who love Star Wars (and even those who don’t), this six-book series offers compelling titles like Darth Paper Strikes Back and The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett. Is 6th grader Dwight’s origami finger puppet of Yoda real? That’s the question his classmates are trying to figure out.
5. Big Nate by Lincoln Pierce
Interest Level: 3-7
Inspired by Pierce’s comic strip of the same name, this series is filled with school humor (Pierce himself was a teacher) that kids will appreciate. Spirited 6th-grader Nate is more than a bit mischievous, which may be why he has proven so popular with young readers.
6. Stink by Megan McDonald
Interest Level: Grades 1-4
This spin-off of the popular Judy Moody series (title character Stink is Judy’s second-grade little brother) is geared toward slightly younger readers, but it’s still a fun read that will appeal to many Wimpy Kid fans.
7. Alvin Ho by Leonore Look
Interest Level: Grades 1-5
Asian-American second-grader Alvin Ho is so afraid of, well, everything, that he doesn’t even talk at school. It’s no wonder he’s been compared to Wimpy Kid’s Greg Heffley on more than one occasion.
8. My Weird School series by Dan Gutman
Interest Level: Grades 2-5
With so many books in this series, plus several spin-off companion series, there’s practically no end to My Weird School books for students who want a light-hearted series that keeps on going…and going…and going…. These books may be book candy, but they’re book candy that keeps kids laughing and, most importantly, reading.
9. Dork Diaries by Rachel Russell
Interest Level: Grades 4-8
The personal diaries of 14-year-old Nikki Maxwell won’t appeal to all Wimpy Kid readers, but they are likely to appeal to some, particularly female fans of the series. The #1 New York Times bestselling series features drawings, doodles and comic strips and is popular among reluctant readers. (Don’t miss the Dork Diaries giveaway at the bottom of this post for a chance to add this series to your classroom library!)
10. Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Interest Level: Grades 4-7
A graphic novel about junior high? Now why does that sound familiar? This coming-of-age story revolves around roller derby and girl power, and is a Newbery Honor winner.
11. Joey Pigza by Jack Gantos
Interest Level: Grades 4-7
Title character Joey Pigza has ADHD and more than a few behavior issues when he’s off his medication (which may be what makes him so appealing to middle grade readers).
12. I Funny by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein
Interest Level: Grades 3-7
Another series with a middle school theme, this time focused on funny, handicapped Jamie Grimm, who has dreams of being the world’s greatest stand-up comedian despite being in a wheelchair.
13. Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
Interest Level: Grades 3-7
Zita isn’t exactly Greg Heffley—her best friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult—but this action-packed science fiction series of graphic novels is often a student favorite.
14. Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time by Lisa Yee
Interest Level: Grades 4-7
Readers who enjoy this title about a basketball star who is failing English should also check out the companion prequel Millicent Min, Girl Genius.
15. Dear Dumb Diary by Jim Benton
Interest Level: Grades 4-7
The candid and humorous diaries of middle school student Jamie Kelly actually debuted in 2004, three years before Wimpy Kid hit shelves in 2007. But readers who enjoy the first-person diary format will find much to enjoy in this series.
16. Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
Interest Level: Grades 2-5
While some may claim that these books have language inappropriate for their target audience (Book 4, after all, is entitled Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor PoopyPants), they are without a doubt among some of the most popular books for elementary readers. But then we’re probably not telling you anything you don’t already know.
17. Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
Interest Level: Grades 4-7
This award-winning fantasy graphic novel series features the adventures of main character, Emily, and her younger brother, Navin. The siblings overcome a variety of challenges as they enter the fictional world of Alledia. Readers will encounter more suspense than in Wimpy Kid, but the same type of comic illustrations.
Still have a reader who prefers Wimpy Kid over all else? Look for the next book to hit the shelves in November of 2017! We’ve also got a great opportunity to stock your classroom library with the Dork Diaries series! Enter below for your chance to win.
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to our winners!
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Very informational…great reading ideas for my 11 yr. old grandson
This books are too easy kids should be reading stuff that they can learn and do in their real life.
It’s better for kids to be reading than not. If this gets a kid interested in books, I’m all for it!
Reading is reading. I would much rather a child be reading a book (at grade level or not) that they enjoy rather than having them read something they abhor and put off reading for the rest of their life.
Jeremiah just finished 1st grade and he found a total love for reading because of diary of a wimpy kid!! Glad he found some at the school library. We baight one and he read the whole thing age 6 this summer w little help from is. Thankful for these books
very useful thanks a lot
I don’t care if kids read the back of cereal boxes as long as they are cultivating a love of reading. I got a retirement job in a library and loved watching the kids visit in the summer and choose books that they loved, read before, were fun to read and sometimes below grade level. But they were joyful when choosing books that they didn’t HAVE to read but could read for shear pleasure.
I still prefer Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.
It’s a great one! What do you like about it? Are there any books on this list that you haven’t read but would try?