Friday, April 9, 2010

If you liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is one of the most popular children's book series around today. I've seen a lot of kids who have read the entire series five or six times, and they have no intention of stopping. For those of you who haven't read it, it is a series of journals chronicling the life of Greg Heffley, a seventh grade nobody trying to navigate the choppy waters of adolescence. This is a great series that identifies with kids in that awkward tween stage of life with humor and compassion without talking down to them or belittling their difficulties. The new movie is only fueling the fires of interest as more kids (and adults, too) become interested in Greg's world. But, those of you that have already exhausted the series; DO NOT FEAR! I have some great suggestions for you!

Click here if you'd like to place a hold on this book.

Dear Dumb Diary by Jim Benton is a series that is very similar. There are nine books in the series so far and more coming out all the time. This is also in diary format. Unlike Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it's following the life of a twelve year old girl named Jamie, so readers get to see middle school through the eyes of a girl for a change. In the first installation called Pretend This Never Happened, Jamie tries to deal with her troll-like baby cousin, avoid socially devastating nicknames, and ruminate over ways to overthrow Angeline, the most popular girl in school. A feature that Wimpy Kid fans are sure to love is Jamie's drawings which add a great deal of humor to already amusing situations. These books might be more appealing to girls who are more likely to understand the importance of lip gloss and cute hair, but boys are still sure to appreciate the clumsy, clever, and downright ludicrous antics of Jamie as she tries to reach 10 on the popularity scale.

Click here if you would like to place a hold on this book.

Another series that I recommend is How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. So far there are eight books in this series. Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this series has also been adapted for the silver screen. It reads like a Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but for Vikings. Also written in diary format from the point of view of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III the "Hope and Heir to the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans" Hiccup is the son of Stoick the Vast, the leader of the Viking tribe. Unfortunately, Hiccup is having trouble following in his father's heroic footsteps as he and his peers struggle to capture, train, and control dragons for the first time. In this world a wimpy kid like Hiccup is exiled into the wilderness forever if he fails to fit in. Apparently stakes are a little bit higher for Viking kids. The first book of the series is about Hiccup and his self-centered, disobedient, and minuscule dragon, Toothless. The pair manages to save the day by using their wits rather than muscles when a gargantuan dragon threatens to devour the tribe. This series also has really amusing illustrations that add a lot of humor to the text.

Click here if you would like to place a hold on this book.

Miss Mollie

3 comments:

Liz said...

This isn't a series, but how about "Sewing a Friendship" by Natalie Tinti. Four best friends take a chance and include an "outsider," so to speak, a girl they don't thik is even very nice. They've got an adventure planned, and then the girl gets in the way. Can they solve the issues? Can they look below the surface? Can they include someone a little less social? and it was written by a 10-year-old!

mollieh said...

This looks like a really good one. We don't have it in the collection, so I'll have to see about ordering a copy. I love the fact that it was written and illustrated by a young girl! She must be really talented. Thanks for the suggestion!

mollieh said...

Liz, just wanted to let you know that we just added a copy of "Sewing a Friendship" to our collection. Thanks for the suggestion!