Need books similar to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series....

[McKelly]

I will second/third

Series of Unfortunate Events
How to Train Your Dragon Series
Captain Underpants

and there is also a Dinosaur Cove series that my son enjoyed when he was that age and an "I Survived" series.

39 Clues and Percy Jackson have also been popular in our house.

And don't forget non-fiction books. Is there something he is interested in, dinosaurs, skateboarding, animal attacks?

 

[gdulaney]

Try Hocus Pocus Hotel by Michael Dahl.

Big Nate is the closest to WK.

39 Clues is a great series....it's also a good way to introduce new authors. The story arc for the first set of books was written by Rick Riordan and he wrote the first book, but all the other books are written by different authors.

Another popular series is the Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson. Each book takes place in a different Disney location.

Rick Riordan also does the Kane Chronicles and the Heroees of Olympus (in addition to the Percey Jackson series).

 

[StitchFanZ]

I have another 9 year old son who is a huge fan of captain underpants. Certainly not my first choice for reading material-but it's the ONLY things he is excited about reading (other than pokemon cards.)

If he likes to play the pokemon games on the DS then the pokemon game guides are another great source of reading materials. Game guides, comic books like garfield, scooby doo,donald duck, mickey mouse are other great options.

 

[StitchFanZ]

Hank the Cowdog (I highly recomend listening to one of these on tape - they are fun to listen too)
Hardy Boys
Nancy Drew
Redwall series

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

I don't know if anybody has mentioned these because I haven't read all the responses but there is a book series called Dork Diaries. I think there is 4 or 5 books in that series.

Goosebumps have a ton of books too in that series.

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

My DS9 is a reluctant reader as well, but seems to be improving. He will rarely read without being told, but when I tell him to he doesn't complain. He's reading the Geronimo Stilton series now. Good quick reads for him. About 100 pages and he finishes them in a day or two. He also likes most of the others mentioned here - Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, Percy Jackson, and the Heroes of Olympians. He also likes the Magic Treehouse series.

He recenlty told me he likes to read about real things, so for Easter he got "Who was Walt Disney" by Whitney Stewart. He really seems to like it. This is a series also. There are others about other famous people. I think we will be getting more of these soon!

 

[olecow]

My 12 year ols son hates reading, but LOVES the WImpy Kid series. He also likes Captain Underpants and he just finished and loved Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide To Not Reading and Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide To Extra Credit. They were written by a father whose son hates to read. Try them out.

 

[runsandjumps]

My son loves captain underpants too.

That is the best feeling when your child finishes a book and asks for more.

 

[Poohbug]

My DS9 is not a reader and it is hard to find books that interest him. He has read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. He also really likes the Squish, Super Amoeba series. I just got a new book from the library that he just started this week and is already half way through. For him that is great. It's called Timmy Failure, Mistakes were Made. I will read it after he is done but I am pretty sure it is going to be a series.

 

[cjnix29]

DS9 is a great reader, and is reading The Lost Hero books. But he also loved the series of Origami Yoda books. There are three of them, a Darth Paper, and something about a Wookie. I would put them in the same category as the Wimpy Kid books.

 

[Jridou]

My 8 year old just kept re-reading those Wimpy Kid books, didn't think I'd ever find something else he'd read.

Picked up this book at Costco and he LOVES it. It's written by the cartoonist who I think writes Pearls before Swine. My son asked me today for "more Timmy Failure books"

Timmy Failure: Mistakes were made.

http://www.amazon.com/Timmy-Failure...1365210873&sr=8-2&keywords=mistakes+were+made

 

[Eureka]

My 10 year old also wasn't much of a reader but loved wimpy kid and captain underpants. He just discovered a series by Gordon Korman...one is called Stakeout, one is Hideout, I don't remember th rest but they all have a doberman on the covers. He loves these books and it really gets him to read.

 

[ogorchock]

Does The Kingdom Keepers series take any of the magic out of Disney? It sounds like a great series but I'm always careful to keep my dd from reading or seeing anything that tells her too much about Disney behind-the-scenes. Even tho she's getting older, I still want her to think it's all magic!

 

[Granny square]

If your daughter is still young, kingdom keepers might be kind of creepy. It bothered one of my boys.

 

[Byron13]

Granddaughter whose 8 has read all the Wimpy Kid books and has just started on the Harry Potter books.

 

[anelson81993]

Going to start off by saying that I do not have kids, so you should probably take what I say with a grain or two of salt. However, I was an adolescent fairly recently, and I'm also a senior in college studying English education at the middle/high school level. Because of my degree program, and because of my age and the age of my younger sibling, I read an insane amount of young adult literature.
I second all the suggestions so far, with special shout-outs to the Percy Jackson books and the rest of Riordan's YA novels, the Kingdom Keepers series, and most especially the Wayside Schools books (which is the first series I recommend to reluctant readers).
Is the Dear America book series still around/available? If your son is interested in history, those would be an excellent choice. These books are historical fiction novels set as diaries written by kids in different historical periods, and they are great books for reluctant readers.
When I was 9, I loved Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider novels. I also enjoyed the novels of Margaret Peterson Haddix, including but not limited to the Shadow Children series.
One series that I have not seen recommended is the "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" series by Michael Scott, which starts with The Alchymest. This is a great series that I cannot recommend highly enough.
One thing I would strongly suggest if you think your son is going to continue reading, and yay! if he does, is to find a good half-price bookstore in your area. In my experience, libraries often have limited copies of books, and waiting lists get insanely long (I've been on a waiting list for the first 39 Clues book for over a year). Having a good half-price bookstore in your area, or a trusty website to turn to if it's not at the bookstore (I use Amazon for inexpensive books since I have Prime, or www.alibris.com if I can get the book at an even better price), can be the difference between your son continuing to read because he can get the books he likes and your son choosing not to read because he can't get any of the books he wants. Often, paperbacks and a lot of YA novels can be bought at half-price bookstores or from online bookstores for significantly lower than list costs.
Hope this helps!

 

[Jedana]

DS9 loves the choose your own adventure books! (remember those?)

We've gone through the Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants (and the offshoots from those), 39 Clues and A to Z Mysteries. Also Magic Tree House, even though they are for a younger set, he still loves them.

He's reading Harry Potter right now (book 2) and The Secret Series (by Pseudonymous Bosch)---that one is pretty weird.

He also got a Marvel Encyclopedia at Christmas. Yes, it's superheroes, but he's reading and improving his vocabulary, spelling and comprehension.

 

[elfling8]

I didn't read through the whole thread to see if this is a repeat, but my DS8 (3rd grade) who hates to read loves the Dragonbreath series. It is similar to Wimpy Kid in that there are lots of comic book style drawing breaks in between the pages of text. He was so proud and excited to buy the whole series with his own money.
http://ursulavernon.com/node/8

edit - ditto the comments above about the Origami Yoda series. I started reading it out of curiosity and kept busting out loud laughing. Great books, and similar reading level and topics.

 

[Granny square]

My kids loved the Judy Blume "fudge" books. The first is "tales of a fourth grade nothing." Fun fun books. hank the cow dog still cracks me up. Hated captain underpants.

 

[iheartdisney]

DS9 is a great reader, and is reading The Lost Hero books. But he also loved the series of Origami Yoda books. There are three of them, a Darth Paper, and something about a Wookie. I would put them in the same category as the Wimpy Kid books.

This! DD10 and DS9 LOVE the Origami Yoda books. Just be prepared to invest on origami paper!
Another new graphic novel set that is similar is the Tales of a 6th grade Muppet. DS9 loves them!