13 Books Like Dork Diaries by Rachel Renée Russell

Raina Telgemeier's Smile is the book you hand someone who loved Dork Diaries and is ready for something that cuts a little deeper. It's a graphic novel memoir about Telgemeier's own middle school years, specifically the nightmare that started when she knocked out her two front teeth in a fall. What follows is years of dental work, braces, headgear, and surgery, all while navigating the social battlefield of sixth grade. The genius of Smile is that the dental drama becomes a lens for everything else: shifting friendships, the slow realization that some of your friends aren't actually your friends, and the agonizing self-consciousness of being a teenager who looks different. Telgemeier's art is warm and expressive, and she nails the way a single embarrassing moment can feel like the end of the world when you're twelve. Kids who connected with Nikki Maxwell's diary-style honesty will find the same raw vulnerability here, just told through panels instead of notebook pages.

Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth, and what follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there’s still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly. This coming-of-age true story is sure to resonate with anyone who has ever been in middle school, and especially those who have ever had a bit of their own dental drama.

This is the most obvious pick on the list, and it deserves to be. Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the other pillar of illustrated diary fiction for middle graders, and if your reader loved Dork Diaries, there's a very good chance they've already found Greg Heffley. But if they haven't, this is essential reading. Greg's journal chronicles his first year of middle school with the same mix of humor and horror that defines Nikki's diary, though Greg is notably less self-aware and considerably more scheming. The stick-figure illustrations scattered through every page give the book that same personal, handmade feel. Where Nikki worries about fitting in with the popular crowd, Greg is convinced he's destined for greatness and just temporarily stuck among lesser mortals. That gap between how Greg sees himself and how the world actually works is where all the comedy lives. It's a different flavor of middle school chaos, but it scratches the exact same itch.

Being a kid can really stink. And no one knows this better than Greg. He finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. Greg is happy to have Rowley Jefferson, his sidekick, along for the ride. But when Rowley's star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend's newfound popularity to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion. The hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary. But as Greg says: “Just don’t expect me to be all “Dear Diary” this and “Dear Diary” that.” Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won’t do and what he actually does are two very different things.

Raina Telgemeier's graphic novel adaptation of The Baby-Sitters Club brings the friend-group dynamics of Dork Diaries into sharp focus. Kristy's Great Idea follows Kristy Thomas as she launches a babysitting business with her three best friends, and immediately the chemistry of the group becomes the engine of the story. What makes this such a strong match for Dork Diaries fans is the way it handles the messy reality of female friendship: the jealousy, the miscommunication, the fierce loyalty underneath it all. Nikki Maxwell's crew in Dork Diaries, Chloe and Zoey especially, operates on the same wavelength. Telgemeier's artwork is bright and inviting, and she has a gift for making everyday tween problems feel urgent without making them feel trivial. The entrepreneurial angle adds a layer of fun that keeps it from being purely about social drama. If your reader loved watching Nikki and her friends figure things out together, the BSC graphic novels are a natural next step.

In this new graphic novel edition of the very first Baby-Sitters Club book, Raina Telgemeier captures all the drama of the original in warm, spunky illustrations. Witness Kristy's eureka moment, when she gets the idea for a "baby-sitters club" and enlists her best friends, shy Mary Anne and artistic Claudia, in an exciting new venture. But the baby-sitting business isn't the only thing absorbing their attention: Kristy is having a hard time accepting her stepdad-to-be, and the newest member of the gang, Stacey, seems to be hiding a secret.

Drama is Telgemeier at her most ambitious, and it's a perfect fit for Dork Diaries readers who are starting to notice that their feelings about crushes are getting more complicated. Callie is a middle schooler working on the stage crew for her school's musical, and the title refers to both the theatrical kind and the interpersonal kind. There are love triangles, identity questions, and the particular intensity of theater kids who feel everything at full volume. The connection to Dork Diaries runs through the school setting and the way Drama treats tween emotions as completely valid and worth exploring. Telgemeier never talks down to her readers. Callie's world is colorful and chaotic, and the behind-the-scenes theater setting gives the book a specificity that makes it feel lived-in. For readers who loved the crush storylines in Dork Diaries, this is the graphic novel that takes those feelings seriously.

PLACES, EVERYONE! Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she can't really sing. Instead she's the set designer for the drama department stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn't know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen. And when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!

Dav Pilkey's Dog Man is a sharp left turn from the diary-format drama of Dork Diaries, but hear me out. A huge part of what makes Dork Diaries work for its audience is the visual format: the doodles, the comic-strip asides, the way the illustrations carry as much of the story as the text. Dog Man cranks that element up to eleven. It's a graphic novel about a half-dog, half-police-officer hero that reads like it was drawn by the world's most enthusiastic kid, complete with intentional spelling errors and flip-o-rama pages. The humor is broader and sillier than anything in Dork Diaries, but it shares the same DNA of making reading feel like play. For younger readers in the Dork Diaries audience, or for kids who gravitate toward the illustrated pages more than the diary entries, Dog Man is pure joy on paper. It also has the same bingeable quality, with a long series that rewards loyal readers.

From worldwide bestselling author and artist Dav Pilkey comes Dog Man, the canine cop who's part dog, part man, and All Hero! Get ready for Action, Suspense, Romance... and Laffs! George and Harold have created a new breed of justice. When Greg the police dog and his cop companion are injured on the job, a life-saving surgery changes the course of history, and Dog Man is born. With the head of a dog and the body of a human, this heroic hound digs into deception, claws after crooks, rolls over robbers, and scampers after squirrels. Will he be able to resist the call of the wild to answer the call of duty? Dav Pilkey's wildly popular 'Dog Man' Series appeals to readers of all ages and explores universally positive themes, including empathy, kindness, persistence, and the importance of being true to one's self. This new series may use conventional spelling, but it is still full of all the same humor and fun of George and Harold's previous graphic novels! Age Rating: 6-8+ / Grades 2-3+ / Lexile GN390L Edition MSRP: $9⁹⁹ US / $12⁹⁹ CAN / £12⁹⁹ UK (ISBN 978-0-545-58160-8) Printed in China

The second Wimpy Kid book earns its own spot because it zeroes in on something Dork Diaries fans know well: the horror of having your private life exposed. Greg's older brother Rodrick discovers Greg's diary and holds it over him like a weapon, which is basically Nikki Maxwell's worst nightmare made real. The sibling rivalry angle adds a dimension that the first Wimpy Kid book only hints at, and Kinney writes Rodrick as the kind of effortlessly cool tormentor who makes Greg's life miserable without even trying very hard. The school embarrassment scenes hit the same notes as Nikki's cafeteria disasters. There's a party-gone-wrong sequence that ranks among the funniest in the entire series. If your reader already finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid and wants more, Rodrick Rules is where the series really finds its rhythm.

The highly anticipated sequel to the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling book! Secrets have a way of getting out, especially when a diary is involved. Whatever you do, don’t ask Greg Heffley how he spent his summer vacation, because he definitely doesn’t want to talk about it. As Greg enters the new school year, he’s eager to put the past three months behind him . . . and one event in particular. Unfortunately for Greg, his older brother, Rodrick, knows all about the incident Greg wants to keep under wraps. But secrets have a way of getting out . . . especially when a diary is involved. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules chronicles Greg’s attempts to navigate the hazards of middle school, impress the girls, steer clear of the school talent show, and most important, keep his secret safe.

By book three, Jeff Kinney has the formula locked in, and The Last Straw pushes Greg into new territory: his dad wants to toughen him up. The family dynamics here connect to something Dork Diaries does well but doesn't always get credit for, which is showing how home life and school life bleed into each other. Greg's father signs him up for soccer, tries to get him interested in physical activity, and generally makes Greg's life more uncomfortable than middle school already makes it. The cringe factor is through the roof. Kinney is a master of the slow-building embarrassment scene, the kind where you can see the disaster coming from three pages away but you can't stop reading. For Dork Diaries fans who love that "oh no, this is going to be so bad" feeling, The Last Straw delivers it over and over. The illustrated diary format remains the connective tissue that makes the whole series feel like a cousin to Nikki's notebooks.

Let’s face it: Greg Heffley will never change his wimpy ways. Somebody just needs to explain that to Greg’s father. You see, Frank Heffley actually thinks he can get his son to toughen up, and he enlists Greg in organized sports and other "manly” endeavors. Of course, Greg is easily able to sidestep his father’s efforts to change him. But when Greg’s dad threatens to send him to military academy, Greg realizes he has to shape up . . . or get shipped out.

Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet series opener is the wildcard pick, and it's here for the Dork Diaries readers who are ready to branch out. The Stonekeeper follows Emily and Navin after their family moves to their great-grandfather's old house, where they discover a dangerous underground world. The connection to Dork Diaries isn't in the subject matter but in the format and the readability. This is a full-color graphic novel with stunning artwork that pulls young readers through at a sprint. Kids who came to love reading through the visual storytelling of Dork Diaries often find their next obsession in graphic novel series like Amulet. The young protagonists carry real emotional weight, dealing with family loss and responsibility in ways that respect the reader's intelligence. It's a different genre entirely, but it meets the same audience right where they are: kids who want stories they can see as well as read, with enough depth to keep them coming back.

Graphic novel star Kazu Kibuishi creates a world of terrible, man-eating demons, a mechanical rabbit, a giant robot---and two ordinary children on a life-or-death mission. After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids' mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals. Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves.

R.J. Palacio's Wonder doesn't have diary doodles or illustrated margins, but it has something Dork Diaries fans will recognize instantly: the bone-deep fear of being judged. Auggie Pullman was born with a facial difference and is entering a mainstream school for the first time in fifth grade. The middle school setting is familiar territory, and Palacio nails the social dynamics with painful accuracy. What sets Wonder apart is its rotating perspective structure. You get Auggie's viewpoint, then his sister's, then his classmates', building a picture of how one kid's presence changes an entire school community. Dork Diaries readers who connected with Nikki's anxiety about fitting in will find that same thread here, amplified and treated with enormous tenderness. This is the book on the list most likely to make a young reader cry, and also most likely to change how they treat the kid sitting alone at lunch. It's a step up in emotional complexity from Dork Diaries, which makes it ideal for readers who are growing alongside the series.

I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse. August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. Wonder, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others.

The Baby-Sitters Club Little Sister graphic novels aim at the younger end of the Dork Diaries readership, and Karen's Witch is a charming entry point. Karen Brewer is Kristy Thomas's little stepsister, and she's convinced her neighbor is a witch. The book has a diary-adjacent voice, chatty and personal, with Katy Farina's bright illustrations carrying the lighter tone. It doesn't have the mean-girl drama or crush complications of Dork Diaries, but it shares the same foundation: a girl with a big personality navigating her small world with total conviction. For readers on the younger side of the 9-12 range who found Dork Diaries through an older sibling, Karen's Witch offers a similar reading experience pitched right at their level. The series is also long enough to keep a young reader busy for a while, which any parent of a book-devouring kid will appreciate.

A fresh and fun graphic novel series spin-off of The Baby-sitters Club, featuring Kristy's little stepsister! Karen Brewer lives next door to Mrs. Porter, who wears long robes and has wild gray hair. Mrs. Porter has a black cat named Midnight and always seems to be working in her garden. Karen isn't supposed to spy on her neighbor, but she's determined to prove that Mrs. Porter is a witch named Morbidda Destiny! Mrs. Porter is getting ready to have a special meeting at her house, and Karen is sure the meeting is for witches. Are they going to cast a spell on Karen? Or will she be brave enough to send them away -- once and for all?

If you're looking for books similar to Dork Diaries and haven't found Lottie Brooks yet, you're in for a treat. Katie Kirby's series is the closest spiritual successor to Dork Diaries on this entire list. Lottie is an eleven-year-old who documents her life in diary entries filled with illustrations, lists, and the kind of dramatic overreactions that Nikki Maxwell would completely understand. The humor is sharp and specific to the tween experience: friendship drama, embarrassing parents, school disasters, and the overwhelming conviction that your life is harder than anyone else's. Kirby writes with genuine affection for her protagonist and never makes Lottie the butt of the joke, even when Lottie is being completely ridiculous. The illustrated diary format is a direct match, and the British setting adds a fresh spin without changing the universal formula. This is the pick for readers who finished all fifteen Dork Diaries books and want something that feels exactly like coming home.

Lottie Brooks is 11 ¾ and her life is already officially over - not only is she about to start high school without any friends or glamorous swooshy hair, she's just discovered she's too flat-chested to wear A BRA! She might as well give up now and go into hibernation with her hamsters Sir Barnaby Squeakington and Fuzzball the Third. Lottie navigates the many perils of growing up in this fantastically funny new illustrated series for a 9-12 audience, filled with friendship, embarrassing moments and plenty of lols.

Roald Dahl's Matilda might seem like an odd fit next to diary-format graphic novels, but the connection runs deeper than format. Matilda Wormwood is a brilliant girl stuck in a world that underestimates her, surrounded by adults who range from neglectful to outright cruel. That smart-girl-against-the-world energy is pure Nikki Maxwell. Dork Diaries fans know what it feels like to root for a protagonist who is smarter than the people making her life difficult, and Matilda is the original version of that story. The school setting anchors everything, with Miss Trunchbull serving as the ultimate mean authority figure, leagues beyond anything MacKenzie Hollister could manage. Dahl's writing is wickedly funny without ever being mean to the kids in his story, and Quentin Blake's illustrations give the book a visual personality that bridges the gap between Matilda and the more heavily illustrated books on this list. It's a classic for a reason, and Dork Diaries readers who haven't discovered it yet are in for something special.

“The Trunchbull” is no match for Matilda! Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she's knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she's a super-nerd and the teacher's pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda's world... For starters she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there's the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Miss ("The") Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will, and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge. Roald Dahl was a spy, ace fighter-pilot, chocolate historian, and medical inventor. He was also the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, and many more brilliant stories. He remains the World's No. 1 Storyteller.

Svetlana Chmakova's Awkward is a graphic novel that could have been titled Dork Diaries: The Honest Version. Peppi Torres is the new kid at Berrybrook Middle School, and on her very first day she shoves away the nerdy kid who tries to help her pick up her dropped papers, because being seen with him would be social suicide. The guilt from that moment drives the entire story. What makes Awkward such a perfect recommendation for Dork Diaries fans is how precisely it maps the social geography of middle school: the clubs, the cliques, the unspoken rules about who you can talk to and where you can sit. Chmakova draws her characters with huge, expressive eyes and body language that communicates as much as the dialogue. The found-friend-group dynamic that powers Dork Diaries is here too, as Peppi slowly figures out that the people worth knowing aren't always the ones with the most social currency. It's warm, it's funny, and it treats middle school social anxiety as the serious business it actually is.

Cardinal rule #1 for surviving school: Don't get noticed by the mean kids. Cardinal rule #2 for surviving school: Seek out groups with similar interests and join them. On her first day at her new school, Penelope--Peppi--Torres reminds herself of these basics. But when she trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime Thompson, she's already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the "nerder girlfriend." How does she handle this crisis? By shoving poor Jaime and running away! Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi still can't help feeling ashamed about the way she treated Jaime. Things are already awkward enough between the two, but to make matters worse, he's a member of her own club's archrivals--the science club! And when the two clubs go to war, Peppi realizes that sometimes you have to break the rules to survive middle school!