Angleberger, Tom. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.
Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can really predict the future. Includes instructions for making Origami Yoda. First in a series J ANG  
Barnett, Mac & Jory John. The Terrible Two.
When master prankster Miles Murphy moves to sleepy Yawnee Valley, he challenges the local, mystery prankster in an epic battle of tricks but soon the two join forces to pull off the biggest prank ever seen. J BAR
Benton, Jim. Dear Dumb Diary series
In her diary, middle school student Jamie Kelly describes her life at home and at school, including her attempts to triumph over her nemesis, the beautiful and popular Ange. J-PBK BEN
Benton, Jim. Franny K. Stein series
Franny K. Stein, mad scientist, makes a monster, battles a fifty-foot cupid, creates a robot and an invisibility potion, and experiments with time. J-SF BEN, J-PBK BEN
Birdseye, Tom. Attack of the Mutant Underwear.
Fifth-grader Cody Carson keeps a journal of his hopes for a fresh start in a town where nobody knows about his humiliating mistakes of the past, but before school even begins so does his embarrassment. J BIR
Clements, Andrew. Frindle.
When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control. J CLE
Fry, Michael. The Odd Squad: Bully Bait.
When Nick’s school counselor insists that he needs better socialization skills after being a bully stuffs him into a locker Nick joins the school's lame Safety Patrol. J FRY
Greenwald, Tom. Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading.
Middle schooler Charlie Joe is proud of his success at avoiding reading, but eventually his schemes go too far. J GRE
Griffiths, Andy. The 13 Story Treehouse.
Andy and Terry must meet a latest book deadline despite numerous distractions in their sophisticated tree house home, including flying cats, giant bananas, and sea monsters pretending to be mermaids. J GRI
Gutman, Dan. My Weird School series
Something weird is going on at A.J.'s school. The 2nd grade teacher doesn't know math and the principal kissed a pig on the lips! J GUT
Hiaasen, Carl. Squirm.
This summer, Billy will fly across the country, hike a mountain, float a river, dodge a grizzly bear, shoot down a spy drone, save a neighbor's cat, save an endangered panther, and then try to save his own father. J HIA
Holm, Jennifer L. Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf: a Year Told through Stuff.
The first year of middle school can be exciting, or scary, just ask Ginny. J HOL
Klise, Kate. Regarding the Fountain.
When the principal asks a fifth-grader to write a letter regarding the purchase of a new drinking fountain for their school, he finds that all sorts of chaos results. J KLI
McDonald, Megan. Stink series
Full of laughs - from the class trip to the science museum's "Gross-Me-Out" exhibit to experiments with toilet water to a retelling of how, years before, baby Stink's dirty diaper inspired his name. J MCD
Mian, Zanib. Planet Omar series
Imaginative Omar goes through the ups and downs of starting a new school and making new friends with the help of his wonderful (and silly) Muslim family. J MIA
Moss, Marissa. Amelia's Notebook series
The hand-lettered contents of a nine-year-old girl's notebook, in which she records her thoughts and feelings about moving, starting school, and dealing with her older sister, as well as keeping her old best friend and making a new one. J MOS
Pastis, Stephan. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made.
Resolving to earn so much money that his mother will no longer stress out over the bills, 11-year-old Timmy Failure launches a detective business with a polar bear. J PAS
Peirce, Lincoln. Big Nate: In a Class by Himself.
Supremely confident middle-school student Nate Wright manages to make getting detention from every one of his teachers in the same day seem like an achievement. First in a series. J PEI
Pichon, Liz. The Brilliant World of Tom Gates.
Irritating his teachers with his lack of focus and creative excuses, Tom Gates spends his time drawing pictures and writing down observations about everything from his grumpy sister and annoying classmate to an unsatisfying camping trip. J PIC
Reynolds, Jason. Stuntboy, in the Meantime.
Portico Reeves' secret identity as Stuntboy allows him to use his superpower to keep everybody safe, but when his superhero parents start fighting a lot he feels the responsibility to save them. J REY
Russell, Rachel Renee. Dork Diaries series
Fourteen-year-old Nikki Maxwell writes in her diary of her struggle to be popular at her exclusive new private school, then of finding her place after she gives up on being part of the elite group. J RUS
Russell, Rachel Renee. The Misadventures of Max Crumbly: Locker Hero.
There’s a lot that’s great about Max’ new school, but there’s also one big problem—Doug, the school bully whose hobby is stuffing Max in his locker. J RUS
Scieszka, Jon. Spaceheadz series
Starting fifth grade at a new school, Michael K. discovers that all his classmates and the class hamster are actually aliens in disguise who have traveled to earth to convince the children of the world to help save the planet. J-SF SCI
Skye, Robert. The Creature from My Closet series
Rob stuffed his closet with old laboratory experiments, unread books, and more; and then a series of troublesome creatures emerges from that chaos. J SKU
Tashjian, Janet. My Life as a Cartoonist.
12-year-old Derek wants to train his pet monkey to help Umberto, a new student who uses a wheelchair, but Umberto would rather steal Derek's cartoon ideas. One in a series. J TAS
Winkler, Henry and Oliver Lin. Hank Zipzer series
Humor, magic, a school bully, a pet dachshund named Cheerio, and a pet iguana that slurps soup at dinner add up to a fun novel with something for everyone. J WIN
And don’t forget to check out Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants series and our Captain Underpants read-alike booklist! |
