Which leads us to this question: What next? Once your kids have devoured all 70-bazillion books in theWimpy Kid saga, what series should they turn to next? I started researching fun, kid-friendly stories that contain enough illustrations humor to lock down their admittedly short attention spans. 
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda A great series by Tom Angleberger. It’s got origami, talking finger puppets, and a Star Wars tie-in. What’s not to like? 
Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life From the prolific mind of thriller specialist James Patterson, who apparently writes a dozen books a month. 
Bone Bone is a 9-volume series of graphic novels by Jeff Smith, now available in a single volume. 
Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja Seriously, who wants to read about wimpy kids when you can read about ninjas? 
Secret Agent 6th Grader Another great book from Marcus Emerson. 
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself Jeff Kinney himself endorsed this book, by saying “Big Nate is funny, big-time.” 
The Notebook of Doom I’d read this one, by Troy Cummings, just from the title alone. (It’s also the first book in a series.) 
Nate The Great This one’s a classic, but it fits right up there within the hooking-boys-on-reading genre. 
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life And I realize that not all readers of Diary of a Wimpy Kid are boys. Here’s a full series with a similar feel, by author and illustrator Rachel Renée Russell, that’s written more for girls. My girls aren’t tweens yet (thank goodness), but this series brings humor to the “hard, hard life” of ages 9-13.
