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 Adventures of Captain Underpants, Ramona the Pest, The Season of Styx Malone, and Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet. 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 Adventures of Captain Underpants, or Ramona the Pest — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

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 →
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 →
Ramona the Pest750L: 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). Amazon →
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 →
Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet820L: Shares themes of school, friendship, and family, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and a close reading level (820L vs 950L). Amazon →
Wonder790L: Shares themes of friendship and family, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+9 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
Out of My Mind700L: Shares themes of friendship and family, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+2 more shared lists), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction). Amazon →
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 →
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself500L: 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). Amazon →
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing470L: 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). Amazon →

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

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

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).
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows · 580L — Shares themes of friendship, family, and humor and overlapping grades (2–4).
Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton · 530L — Shares themes of friendship, family, and humor and overlapping grades (2–5).
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo · 450L — Shares themes of friendship, family, and humor and overlapping grades (K–3).
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).

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.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier · 410L — Shares themes of friendship, humor, and growing up, both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+5 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–8).
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).
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).
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of school, friendship, and growing up, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (4–7).
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).

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.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier · 410L — Shares themes of friendship, humor, and growing up, both on the Dorothy Canfield Fisher / Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list (+5 more shared lists), and overlapping grades (4–8).
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).
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of friendship and humor, both on the Garden State Children's Book Award list (+1 more shared list), and same genre (Middle Grade Fiction).
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).
Confessions of a Class Clown by Arianne Costner · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of school, friendship, and humor, same genre (Middle Grade Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8).

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 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares · grades 7–10 — Shares themes of friendship, family, and growing up and overlapping grades (7–10).
Refugee by Alan Gratz · 800L — Shares themes of family, both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+5 more shared lists), and a close reading level (800L vs 950L).
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie · 920L — Shares themes of family and a close reading level (920L vs 950L).
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins · 810L — Both on the Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award list (+4 more shared lists), a close reading level (810L vs 950L), and the same era (2000s).
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton · 750L — Shares themes of friendship and family and a close reading level (750L 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.

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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