What books are similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid?

The 10 closest matches to Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney on ReadingList include Ramona Quimby, Age 8, The Last Straw, The Adventures of Captain Underpants, Frindle, and Fish in a Tree. Each is scored on shared themes (school, friendship, and family), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–7), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid

If you liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid, read Ramona Quimby, Age 8, The Last Straw, or The Adventures of Captain Underpants — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary — shares school and family

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Looking for books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (Middle Grade Fiction · 950L · grades 3–7)? It’s most often read for its themes of school, friendship, and family. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 3–7 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Ramona Quimby, Age 8860L: Shares themes of school, family, and humor, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
The Last Strawgrades 4–7: Is by Jeff Kinney, the same author, shares themes of school, family, and humor, and both on the Wisconsin Golden Archer Award list. Amazon → books like this →
The Adventures of Captain Underpants720L: Shares themes of school, friendship, and humor, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Frindle830L: Shares themes of school, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Fish in a Tree550L: Shares themes of school and friendship, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Popcorngrades 4–8: Shares themes of school and humor, both on the Maine Student Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Rodrick Rulesgrades 4–7: Is by Jeff Kinney, the same author, shares themes of school and humor, and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
Smile410L: Shares themes of friendship, humor, and growing up, both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+6 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
Harriet the Spygrades 4–7: Shares themes of school, friendship, and growing up, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Season of Styx Malone510L: Shares themes of friendship, family, and growing up, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary · 750L — Shares themes of school, family, and growing up, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary · 860L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey · 390L — Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+3 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (2–5).
The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths · 560L — Shares themes of friendship and humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell · 890L — Shares themes of school, friendship, and humor and a close reading level (890L vs 950L).
J vs. K by Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of school, friendship, and humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–5).
The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of school, friendship, and humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce · 500L — Shares themes of school, friendship, and humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume · 470L — Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Great Stone Face Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).

Books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell · 890L — Shares themes of school, friendship, and humor and a close reading level (890L vs 950L).
The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of school, friendship, and humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce · 500L — Shares themes of school, friendship, and humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and overlapping grades (4–7).
Rascal by Sterling North · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of family and growing up, both on the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli · 820L — Shares themes of family, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+7 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).

Books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green · 850L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+2 more shared lists) and a close reading level (850L vs 950L).
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer · grades 9–12 — Both on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award list (+1 more shared list) and the same era (2000s).
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas · 590L — Shares themes of family and both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+2 more shared lists).
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie · 920L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (920L vs 950L).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky · 720L — Shares themes of friendship and growing up and a close reading level (720L vs 950L).

What to read after Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is book 1 of 12 in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Not done with the series yet? Follow the Diary of a Wimpy Kid reading order first — then come back for the matches above.

Common questions

What books are similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid?: The 10 closest matches to Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney on ReadingList include Ramona Quimby, Age 8, The Last Straw, The Adventures of Captain Underpants, Frindle, and Fish in a Tree. Each is scored on shared themes (school, friendship, and family), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–7), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–7), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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