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Reading levels and needs

What to read after Diary of a Wimpy Kid: 13 books

Wimpy Kid readers like a first-person voice, school humor and cartoons. These thirteen offer the same kind of reading, plus some step-ups to novels.

Titles, authors and publication details were checked against Open Library in October 2026. Age ranges and content notes are editorial judgment based on publisher and library guidance, so preview anything sensitive for your own child. 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.

  1. Big Nate: In a Class by Himself

    Lincoln Peirce · Ages 7-11

    Nate, an overconfident sixth grader, gets detention in a school comic strip format. Funny and fast.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  2. Origami Yoda

    Tom Angleberger · Ages 8-12

    A sixth grader folds a paper Yoda that gives advice. School comedy told as case files.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  3. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

    Judy Blume · Ages 7-10

    Peter's toddler brother Fudge swallows a pet turtle and takes over family life. Short, funny and relatable to anyone with younger siblings.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  4. The 13-Storey Treehouse

    Andy Griffiths · Ages 7-11

    A treehouse that keeps growing floors for outlandish gadgets, drawn by Terry Denton. Published in the US as The 13-Story Treehouse.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  5. The Terrible Two

    Mac Barnett · Ages 7-10

    Two rival pranksters team up against a strict principal at a new school. Short chapters and plenty of drawings.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  6. The Last Kids on Earth

    Max Brallier · Ages 8-11

    In a monster-filled town, a boy and his friends build a treehouse base. Plenty of drawings and monsters.

    Watch for: Cartoon monster violence.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  7. Frindle

    Andrew Clements · Ages 8-11

    Nick decides to rename the pen a 'frindle' and watches the new word spread across town and beyond. A school story about how language works.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  8. Restart

    Gordon Korman · Ages 9-12

    A boy who falls off a roof and loses his memory learns who he was before. A funny, readable story about bullying and second chances.

    Watch for: The main character was a bully and the book shows it.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  9. Hoot

    Carl Hiaasen · Ages 9-13

    Roy, the new kid in Florida, joins a barefoot runaway to save burrowing owls from a pancake restaurant. A comic mystery and a Newbery Honor book.

    Watch for: Mild language; bullying; a bully is humiliated.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  10. Sideways Stories from Wayside School

    Louis Sachar · Ages 7-10

    Thirty absurd stories about a school built sideways with thirty classrooms stacked on top of each other. Each chapter is short and self-contained, which suits reluctant starters too.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  11. The Adventures of Captain Underpants

    Dav Pilkey · Ages 6-9

    Two fourth graders hypnotize their principal into believing he is a superhero. Heavy on potty humor.

    Watch for: Potty humor; some pranks.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  12. New Kid

    Jerry Craft · Ages 8-12

    Jordan, a Black seventh grader who loves drawing, is sent to a mostly white private school. Funny and honest about microaggressions; the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal.

    Watch for: Racial microaggressions and a teacher's insensitivity.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  13. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier · Ages 8-12

    Raina knocks out her front teeth in a fall and goes through years of dental work while navigating friends and middle school. A true memoir in graphic form.

    Watch for: Dental trauma and unkind friends.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

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