Books to Read While You Wait for the New Diary of a Wimpy Kid #6!

The sixth title in the ever-popular  Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise has just been announced by the author and his publisher, Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS.  This new book will be released in November, 2011, just in time for the holidays and winter.  The storyline of Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) is about the Heffley family getting snowed in together.   Author Kinney explains, “Having just experienced an epic winter in New England, I’ve had plenty of inspiration to draw from.”

But November can be a long way off for rabid young Wimpy fans, so we have put together a list of books that you can offer while they wait.  The list contains books that have similar theme, story lines, and are formatted similarly (graphic novel style or journal style).  Just a reminder, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is about a middle schooler which means middle school issues are discussed.  Many second and third grade children are reading this series, for better or for worse.  So the titles below will also contain more mature themes – nothing scary – just a “sweet” disclaimer.

BOOKS TO CHECK OUT WHILE YOU WAIT FOR WIMPY KID !

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger.  Protagonist is male and in the sixth grade.  Should appeal to both boys and girls.  Dare I say, better than the Wimpy Kid books!

Darth Paper Strikes Back: An Origami Yoda Book is the sequel to Origami Yoda due to be published Aug 1st, 2011.  Can’t wait!

The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow.  The protagonists are female and are in fifth grade getting ready to go to middle school. Should be unisex in appeal but likely is more appealing to girls.

The Popularity Papers: The Long-Distance Dispatch Between Lydia Goldblatt & Julie Graham-Chang by Amy Ignatow is the second book in what will likely be a series.  The protagonists are still female but they are now in sixth grade.

My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian.  The protagonist is male and 12 years old.  Appeal should be unisex.

Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce.  Nate, the protagonist, is male and in sixth grade.  This appealed to both my son and daughter.  The other titles in this series are: Big Nate Strikes Again, Big Nate on a Roll, Big Nate: From the Top, and Big Nate Out Loud.  The first three Big Nates on this list are journal style and the last two titles are graphic novels (comic strips only).

Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life is a new title by James Patterson.  The protagonist is male and in the sixth grade (you see a pattern here?).

Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Disasters by Rachel Vail.  The protagonist is male and in the third grade.  Interesting dip in the age of the main character, but it’s a big, long book.  If your reader doesn’t mind reading about a younger kid, it will work. And it’s perfect for those second/third graders who are always reading about middle schoolers.  Appealing to both boys and girls.

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell.  The protagonist is 14 years old and a girl.  I would like to say this is a unisex read, but it’s not.  This one, with its screaming pink cover is for the young ladies.  There are two more books in the series: Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl #2 and Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star.

Smile by Raina Telegmeier.  The protagaonist is in seventh grade and is female.  My daughter LOVED this book, and my twelve year old son liked it, too.  I am an evangelist for this book – it’s just terrific!!