Read-alouds and series
Books to read after Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Wimpy Kid fans like a first-person school disaster and cartoon drawings. These keep the voice and the drawings.
Titles, authors and publication details were checked against Open Library in October 2026; age ranges follow publisher and library guidance and are approximate. Series order is the order of publication. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Tom Angleberger · Ages 8-12
A finger puppet gives advice at school, and a kid compiles a case file on whether it is real.
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Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made
Stephan Pastis · Ages 8-12
A kid detective with a polar bear sidekick. Pastis also draws the comic Pearls Before Swine.
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Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts · Ages 9-13
A kid breaks every rule in his school's code of conduct. Illustrated by Laura Park.
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The Brilliant World of Tom Gates
Liz Pichon · Ages 7-11
A British school notebook full of doodles and band names.
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Hank Zipzer: Niagara Falls, or Does It?
Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver · Ages 7-11
A fourth grader with learning differences is a magnet for trouble. Winkler has dyslexia.
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Stick Dog
Tom Watson · Ages 7-10
Stick-figure dogs try to get hamburgers.
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The Terrible Two
Mac Barnett and Jory John · Ages 8-12
Two pranksters at a school with a prank record.
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Frindle
Andrew Clements · Ages 8-11
A fifth grader coins a new word. Prose only, same school-rebel kick.
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