If you love Wimpy Kid…
The Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney are perennial favorites. My kid still thirsts to read each new volume. From the relatable main character, simple drawings, and diary format, there’s a lot to enjoy here. But what if you’ve read them all? What next? Here are my suggestions for other books that fans would like.
Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid series by Jeff Kinney (started in 2019)
Kinney has a spin-off series featuring the innocent friend Rowley. Same humor but more expansive in genre (with forays into horror and fantasy, for example).
Ungifted and Supergifted by Gordon Korman (2012 and 2018)
These funny and clever books by the prolific Korman look at what happens when the “wrong” kid ends up at a school for the gifted. Excellent exploration of intelligence, friendship, value, and loyalty.
Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds (2019)
The always excellent Reynolds give us a book of interconnected stories arranged around the streets of a neighborhood. Each story is great on its own, and there are glimpses of characters from one story in the background of the others. One of my kid’s favorite books.
Anastasia Krupnik series by Lois Lowry (started in 1979)
One of my favorites from childhood. Anastasia’s spunk and diary will appeal to Wimpy Kid fans. This is a nice long series here for those who get hooked!
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (2007)
I adore this book (and it’s companion novels Okay for Now and Just Like That). Holling Hoodhood is the only kid in his seventh-grade class who doesn’t leave early on Wednesday afternoons for bnai mitzvah or confirmation class. His teacher uses the time to teach him Shakespeare’s plays. Set during the Vietnam War, this book is full of heart and humor.
New Kid and Class Act by Jerry Craft (2019 and 2020)
These graphic novels spotlight Black kids at a private school. Craft touches on code switching, class, race, and other tensions of middle school. Equally important and enjoyable.
Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova (2015)
The first volume in Chmakova’s graphic novels set at Berrybrook Middle School. The characters storm into your heart, and the art is lively and fun. Awkward focuses on Peppi and Jaime and the war between the art club and the science club.
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend (1982)
Another classic from my youth, this one is best suited for teens. It has the diary format that Wimpy Kid fans will recognize but deals more bluntly with puberty.