What's after diary of wimpy kid?

[Stressedoutmammy]

Hi, just looking for book recommendations for my DS12.

He used to be an avid reader but very much one genre, that being funny/comic books such as diary of a wimpy kid, Tom Gates, 13 story treehouse but hasn't been able to progress beyond these and now rarely reads.

His little sister had the latest diary of a wimpy kid for Christmas and he has chosen to read it, so I think if I can find him the right books I could get him to read again. I'm keen to do this as he has slipped in to the habit of using his phone before bed and doesn't sleep great.

Just wondered if anyone had any suggestions for books to move on to. Did you have fans of these books and what did they read next?

Very similar to my DS11. Have you tried David walliams? They’re easy to read and are funny. Maybe start with world’s naughtiest pets or one from thag series.

At that stage I went retro vintage comedy Fawlty Towers, Only fools and horses big books but very accessible.

Yes, he read most of the world's worst series as they came out and a few of the novels but not a huge fan, I think it's the relatable aspect and format of diary of a wimpy kid books he likes, the David Walliams books being a bit too far fetched if that makes sense?

The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz is always popular for that age group.
Another popular series is Percy Jackson by Rick Rordian.
For funny "real life" books the Middle School series by James Patterson is good.
Maybe go "old school" and give him Famous Five/The Mystery Of/Adventure series by Enid Blyton.

My DS9 loved the wimpy kid series he has since moved on to
Big Nate ( this series is recommend by the author of wimpy kid)
World of Norm
Lemony Snicket series of unfortunate events
Middle school series
Worst week every series

Following with interest
my ds12 did read the hunger games after the ones you listed but not much since - could be worth trying

Goosebumps. And the added fun was finding them in secondhand book stores.

ok reread and realised goosebumps is definitely not the right genre.

Thanks for all the suggestions, he has also read all the middle school series but I will look at some of the others, feels like he has almost exhausted the genre.

I enjoyed the hunger games films, maybe I will suggest a book club and we both read them.

Darren Shan is a popular one- it’s a zombie series. There’s also a football series which is very very popular- Matt and Tom Oldfield if he’s into football. But you don’t want them to get stuck just to those, they’re very easy reads though.
He might like non fiction too?

Percy Jackson
Artemis Fowl
Harry Potter

If he likes funny, Mr Gum books are funny but aimed quite a bit younger. I enjoyed reading them as bedtime stories though, much less annoying than Treehouse or Williams!

I am Spartapuss
Cows in action series - Cole

I used to love the Mr Gum books! I could hardly read them to DS2 because I was laughing so much.

Skullduggery pleasant

The Maze Runner series is great for that age. And now a film too, if that would appeal.

Try the Jennifer Killick books - Crater Lake, and the Dread Wood series. A bit scary at times but really enjoyable, about school kids so might feel like a natural progression and easier to read than Alex Rider or the Percy Jackson books.

If he's imaginative, The Explorer, Rooftoppers or anything really by Katherine Rundell are brilliant.

Last Kids on Earth! My 10-yr old adores Wimpy Kid and is also a massive fan of these. He likes Mr Gum too but prefers to read them together so that I can do a load of complicated accents 😂

He also loves the spoof detective ones by Anthony Horowitz - the Diamond Brothers. There's about 6 I think, all very silly but good fun.

Other than that, he quite likes a fantasy series called The Dark is Rising and the Enid Blyton adventure ones - Circus of Adventure, Island of...etc etc (mainly for the quaint comedy value I think!)

The Fizzlebert Stump series by AF Harrild is very good - we all enjoy it.
Flember series
Bad Guys series (maybe a bit junior)
Mr Penguin series

For something a bit different, perhaps the Choose your own adventure books?

Also - what about Discworld? My son is very excited to start them as he's heard me and his Dad reminiscing about them, from our youth!

Was also going to suggest Alex Ryder and Percy Jackson. Also Diana Wynne Jones Howl’s Moving Castle trilogy.

These are good recommendations. My DD was a massive Wimpy Kid fan and still dips into them aged 15, although she's an avid reader of loads of things. Ds harder to motivate but at 12 he really liked the teen version of John Grisham. He's also read the Power of 5 books. The maze runner series is also great. They all loved Patrick Ness Chaos Walking series. As did I! I found reading the book at the same time/ after DS was great as we could talk about it. To be honest, David Walliams was a bit silly and more primary school-ish.

As an aside, I don't let my kids have phones in their rooms. It can be difficult to switch off.

My DS moved on to non-fiction and isn't interested in fiction at all any more sadly

I have tried to get mine into something else for years with no luck. He will read graphic novels though. If you get really stuck maybe try those.

eg these https://amzn.to/3tG3IXq

But you can get all sorts of genres as a graphic novel - mine read a really good adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary. https://amzn.to/47mk2KU

I would look at comics, the important bit is for him to be reading

Bunny Vs Monkey Jamie Smart
Asterix and Obelix
Mega Robo Bros Neill Cameron
Mega Robo Bros 1: Power Up https://g.co/kgs/xPa7Mc4

Alex Rider is a good step up from Wimpy Kid. Also, Curious Incident of The Dog In The Nightime - maybe read that one together.