Readalikes for Diary of a Wimpy Kid
How did Jon Scieszka get so funny? He grew up as one of six brothers with Catholic school, lots of comic books, lazy summers at the lake with time to kill, babysitting misadventures, TV shows, and jokes told at family dinner.
CHILDREN BIOGRAPHY Scieszka, J.
Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can really predict the future. Includes instructions for making Origami Yoda.
CHILDREN FICTION Angleberger, T.
Using
a bogus name, the League of Pickle Makers, sixth-grader Ben and three recruits start a prank-pulling club and receive funding from their middle school's PTA.
CHILDREN FICTION Baker, K.
Eleven-year-old
Ellie McDoodle illustrates her sketchbook with chronicles of her adventures and mishaps while camping with her cousins, aunt, and uncle.
CHILDREN FICTION Barshaw, R.
In her diary, middle school student Jamie Kelly describes her life at home and at school, including her attempts to triumph over her nemesis, the beautiful and popular Angeline.
CHILDREN FICTION Benton, J.
Allie Finkle has rules for everything and is even writing her own rule book, but her world is turned upside-down when she learns that her family is moving across town, which will mean a new house, school, best friend, and plenty of new rules.
CHILDREN FICTION Cabot, M.
Sixth-grader Sofia Becker writes a blog about everything she overhears in the girls' bathroom, especially mean things about the super-popular Mia, but comes to realize that gossip has consequences and popularity is hard to achieve.
CHILDREN FICTION Cooper, R.
As fifth grade comes to an end, '
Cheesie' Mack and his best friend find their summer plans are drastically changed, due in part to a valuable coin that may belong to the mysterious inhabitants of
a place they call The Haunted Toad.
CHILDREN FICTION Cotler, S.
When Miss Breakbone confiscates Junkyard's crucial find, Wheels, Pencil, Spider, and the rest of the
Dunderheads plot to teach her a lesson.
CHILDREN FICTION Fleischman, P.
Simone, a new student, seems intent on stealing Molly away from Nick and the only way Nick can think to stop her is by teaming with his old anti-bullying ally, but that will require Nick using himself as bait--both as the bullied and bullier.
CHILDREN FICTION Fry, M.
Claudia wants to prove that she should be a junior counselor at Blue River
Camp next year, but first she must face mean girls, the boy she has a crush on, a seven-year-old rascal she often babysits, her own bad luck, and a challenging swimming test.
CHILDREN FICTION Gallagher, D.
To
the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers,
Joey has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his prescription meds wear off and he starts getting worked up and acting wired.
CHILDREN FICTION Gantos, J.
When thirteen-year-old David Greenberg's best friend makes the start of
middle school even worse than he feared it could be, David becomes friends with Sophie, who shares his love of television shows and posts one of their skits on YouTube, making them wildly popular--online, at least.
CHILDREN FICTION Gephart, D.
Middle schooler
Charlie Joe is proud of his success at avoiding
reading, but eventually his schemes go too far.
CHILDREN FICTION Greenwald, T.
The first year of
middle school can be exciting, or scary, just ask Ginny.
CHILDREN FICTION Holm, J.
Two best friends embark on a project to study the behavior and taste of the popular girls at their elementary school so that by the time they get to middle school they too will be in the right crowd.
CHILDREN FICTION Ignatow, A.
When Danny gets caught trying to cross his name off the "Geek"
list in the girls' bathroom, he's sent to detention. Bullies torment him mercilessly -- until they discover that Danny can draw.
CHILDREN FICTION Kowitt, H.
Legendary
Griff Carver joins the Rampart Middle School Hallway Patrol and with the help of his new friends,
Griff solves the case of counterfeit hall passes.
CHILDREN FICTION Krieg, J.
Jeremy Bender and his best friend dress up as girls to infiltrate
the Cupcake Cadet troop in an attempt to win
the Windjammer Whirl model sailboat contest, and
the prize money that comes with it
CHILDREN FICTION Luper, E.
Through a series of letters to his father, a private investigator, fifth-grader PJ "Clueless" McGee tells of his efforts to discover who stole macaroni and cheese from the school cafeteria.
CHILDREN FICTION Mack, J.
When her mother gets a new boyfriend, sixth-grader Annabelle gets to cope with a new town, a new school, and a new puppy and, while training her puppy, she decides to apply some of the same techniques to tame the unruly
boys that
are making her middle-school life miserable.
CHILDREN FICTION Margolis, L.
Meet
Timmy Failure, the founder, president, and CEO of the best detective agency in town, probably the nation. And his lazy sidekick, total, a 1,500-pound polar bear.
CHILDREN FICTION Pastis, S.
Things get out of hand for a twelve-year-old boy when a neighbor convinces him to expand his summer lawn mowing business.
CHILDREN FICTION Paulsen, G.
Fourteen-year-old Kevin is very good at lying and doing so makes life easier, but when he finds himself in big trouble with his friends, family, and teachers, he must find a way to end his lies forever.
CHILDREN FICTION Paulsen, G.
After playing a prank on one of his "geeky" classmates, sixth-grader
Max Quigley's punishment is to be tutored by him.
CHILDREN FICTION Roy, J.
In love with the girl he sneezed on the first day of school and best pals with Marshall, the "One Eyed Jack" of friends, seventh-grader
Milo Cruikshank misses his mother whose death has changed everything at home.
CHILDREN FICTION Silberberg, A.
Rodney, an admitted coward, moves
to Ohio where
the middle school
bully immediately singles him out, but when a stray baseball knocks
the bully out just as he is about
to beat Rodney up, Rodney gains an undeserved reputation as a tough guy.
CHILDREN FICTION Starkey, S.
A quirky and utterly logical seventh-grade girl named
Emma-Jean Lazarus discovers some interesting results when she gets involved in the messy everyday problems of her peers.
CHILDREN FICTION Tarshis, L.
Dubbed
a "reluctant reader" by his teacher, twelve-year-old Derek spends summer vacation learning important lessons even though he does not complete his summer reading list.
CHILDREN FICTION Tashjian, J.
It's the start of the school year, and nothing feels right to
Justin. He didn't get the teacher he wanted, he's not in the same class as his best friend, and his little sister, Elizabeth, is starting kindergarten at his school.
CHILDREN FICTION Vail, R.
Fifth-grader Nolan Byrd, tired of being called names by the class bully, has a secret identity--Shredderman!
CHILDREN FICTION Van Draanen, W.
Danny Dragonbreath and his friend Wendell get an up-close underwater tour of the Sargasso Sea from Danny's sea-serpent cousin, encountering giant squid and mako sharks--and learn about standing up to bullies in the process.
CHILDREN FICTION Vernon, U.
Doreen has vowed to make her new middle school work for her, but it is still a challenge given her ADD, her younger sister's lack of popularity, and tensions between her parents. Good thing Doreen has her doodle journal!
CHILDREN FICTION Young, K.