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This month we have a blast from the past on top of The Children’s Book Review’s best selling kids series list. Who remembers the Mr. Men and Little Miss books?

Thanks to World Cup Soccer, the new Magic Tree House book, Soccer on Sunday, has the series on top of The Children’s Book Review’s best selling kids series list.

Best Selling Books for Kids This month, DK Readers: Star Wars are on top of The Children’s Book Review’s best selling kids series list.

Best Selling Books for Kids This month, the popular Who Was …? biography series is back on top of The Children’s Book Review’s best selling kids series list. And the list of hand-selected series from the nationwide best selling Children's Series list, as noted by The New York Times, features the same popular dystopian thriller series as last month from the likes of Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins, the adventurous Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan, and the relatable Diary of a Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney.

The New York Times bestselling "Pete the Cat" picture book series tops The Children's Book Review's best selling kids series list. And the list of hand-selected series from the nationwide best selling Children's Series list, as noted by The New York Times, features the same popular dystopian thriller series as last month from the likes of Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins, the adventurous Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan, and the relatable Diary of a Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney.

That’s actually kind of a long time to wait. You might want to read these Diary of Wimpy Kid Readalikes

The popular Who Was …? series tops The Children's Book Review's best selling kids series list. And the list of hand-selected series from the nationwide best selling Children's Series list, as noted by The New York Times, features the same popular dystopian thriller series as last month from the likes of Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins, the adventurous Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan, and the relatable Diary of a Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Readalikes

You know when you find an amazing book, and you never want it to end? How do you find another book to read after that? Our answer: Readalikes to the rescue! We hope our Readalikes will rescue you from the what-to-read-next question, and help you find lots of new amazing books.

Today's Readalikes are for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. These books follow Greg Heffley as he enters middle school with the goal of increasing his popularity. Unfortunately, Greg is just kind of an average kid, probably not destined for mega-popularity.

There are 6 books in the series (#7 coming out on November 13, 2012!), and 3 movies so far, but once you've finished all those, what to read next? Look for these other funny books for ages 9-12 about life, school, and just being a regular kid. Click on the book covers below to see a whole bunch of other Diary of a Wimpy Kid Readalike books you might also love.

Hope you enjoy our Readalikes!

—Jen, Scholastic Booktalker

Librarian Spotlight #1

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: August 17, 2012

April Hayley, MLIS

To kick off TCBR’s new column “On the Shelf,” which shines a spotlight on brilliant children’s librarians, April Hayley, MLIS, graciously  talked to us about becoming a librarian— among other great topics. Do you think you can guess which is the most checked out children’s book at San Anslemo Public Library in California? Read on!

Bianca Schulze: Why did you choose to become a librarian?

April Hayley: I was fortunate enough to discover the magic of reading at a young age, probably before I was out of the cradle. My mother, a librarian, read me stories and sang to me every night before bed and my father made up fairy tales for me. I didn’t discover my calling as a librarian until college one summer, working for the Chicago Public Library (my hometown). My job was to provide library services to children in some of the city’s most neglected and poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Instead of working inside the library, I brought books and literacy activities directly to the young people who needed it most. I visited three playgrounds a day, equipped only with a trunk full of picture books and a quilt to sit on. Once the kids figured out why I was coming around, they always ran over to join me, so eager to read stories, sing songs, and learn something new.Reading opened up new worlds for the kids I met. I could see it as they linked their eyes with mine, and for me that was a powerful, life-changing experience.

Most of the precious children I met that summer had never been exposed to the pleasures of reading, and none of them had ever visited a public library. When I witnessed the joy and curiosity that reading sparked in them, I understood the transformative effect of reading on young minds and I knew I wanted to be a Children’s Librarian. Once I entered graduate school to earn my Masters in Library Science, I had the opportunity to intern in the Children’s Room of the beautiful Mill Valley Library, and I knew I was on the right path; delivering traditional library services within the walls of a suburban public library could be just as fun and rewarding as literacy outreach in the inner city.

BS: Librarians are the ultimate evangelists for reading. How do you encourage students and children to read?

AH: Now that I work at the San Anselmo Library, I am lucky that many of the kids I meet already love to read. There is a culture of reading in San Anselmo that simply does not exist in places whose inhabitants must spend their time dealing with the dispiriting effects of poverty. Of course, I do a lot of work to promote reading for the children, babies, caregivers, and teenagers of our community. I lead several weekly storytimes for toddlers and preschoolers, which are designed to nourish a love of reading that will last a lifetime. It’s important to reach out to new parents and their babies as early as possible to show them how fun reading, sharing nursery rhymes, learning fingerplays, and singing can be. I also lead a book discussion group for elementary school students called the Bookworms, and a poetry club for yo

Zach Gordon Interview

You know him as Greg Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies. I met him when he came to Scholastic for a Live Chat a couple of years ago before the 1st Wimpy Kid movie came out. He was hilarious and adorable in real life, much more than Greg would be. We now have a new interview with him after his 3rd Wimpy Kid movie. Read on for Zach's current reflections on his life as an actor, his favorite books, and his hopes for the future.

Q: What advice do you have for kids interested in being professional actors?
Zach: Have fun and don’t take it too seriously. There is a lot of rejection in the acting business and you can’t get too emotional or worked up after every audition. Just move on to the next one and eventually all your hard work will pay off. Acting isn’t for everyone, and it’s a lot of hard work. You give up a great deal as a child actor; but for me, the rewards are worth the sacrifice.

Q: What is an unusual talent that most people don’t know that you have?
Zach: I love to write, and I’m planning to write screenplays in the future.

Q: What is your favorite song right now?
Zach: "Stereo Hearts" by Adam Levine and Gym Class Heroes.

Q: What was your most embarrassing moment?
Zach: My family and I were seeing Diary of a Wimpy Kid at a local theatre. When the movie ended, my dad began cheering like crazy and announced to everyone in the theater that I was Greg. One guy even looked back at the screen, and then looked at me and said, “Nah, really????”

Q: How do your friends react to your stardom? 
Zach: What’s great about most of my friends is that they treat me as if I am just a regular kid. I’ve had most of the same friends since preschool and they don’t pay much attention to my acting. We just hang out like everyone else.

Q: Do you have any pets?
Zach: My chocolate lab Bosco is the coolest dog you’ll ever meet. He’s crazy, hyper, and awesome. Everything he does is funny. When I let him outside to do his business, he grabs on to my leg with his paws because he’s afraid to go out alone. He’s a keeper though.

Q: What is the best book you ever read?
Zach: (clearing throat) <

The Third Wheel, the seventh book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, will be released on November 13th. ABRAMS’ Amulet imprint at has ordered a first printing of 6.5 million copies.

In The Third Wheel, star character Greg Heffley will explore the wonders and complications of middle school romance. With this new installment, author Jeff Kinney promised that “the Wimpy universe will be changed in a way that will surprise fans of the series.”

Last month, Kinney was crowned “Author of the Year” at the Children’s Choice Book Awards gala in New York City. The series earned him $17 million in 2011 and a spot on Forbes’ list of the highest paid writers.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

A few odds and ends here  - hopefully, you may find something useful.

A head-scratcher:

• Why is Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days coming out on August 3, with an unofficial title of DWK 3?  I can see why they'd like to release it in the summer because of the storyline, but The Last Straw is book three, not Dog Days.  No matter, I guess.  Kids will like it, but it will annoy the die-hard fans, I think.

•  Not at all book-related, but if you're mourning the demise of Picnik for creating promotional materials, etc., take heart - PicMonkey may just win you over. Give it a try.

• Check out this Non Sequitur comic from May 13, 2012.
• And don't miss the winners of LT's first Edible Book Contest! See them all here.

#76 Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (2007)
26 points

Books geared to those reluctant reader boys – and boy did they work – had so many boys reading that were never readers before this series. – Cheryl Phillips

These books are funny, fast reads that kids love! They have started the “diary” book craze! – Gina Detate

At last he arrives!  The book that indeed is responsible for the hoards of notebook novels we see published left and right today.  Wimpy Kid was one of those phenomenons that arrived at precisely the right moment.  Its rise coincided with the publication of books like Shaun Tan’s The Arrival and Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  These were all books that did not slot easily into single categories sometimes because they were for readers of all ages (as with Tan) or because they dared to mix and meld together text and image.  In Wimpy Kid’s case, this format was a natural offshoot of its webcomic status.  Still, it’s really more novel than graphic, so it fits on this list just fine.

The description from my original review of the book reads, “First things first. Boys do not have diaries. Girls have diaries. Let’s get that straight cause things could get messy if we don’t. Basically, what we have here are the gathered thoughts and memories of Greg Haffley. Greg’s got a pretty average life, all things considered. His older brother is a jerk, his younger brother annoying, his best friend a doofus, and his parents perfect dweebs. To top it all off, Greg’s been thrown into his first year of middle school and things are really weird. Suddenly friendships are shifting and Greg’s not sure who he wants to be. Add in some haunted houses, wrestling, downhill games involving bodily injury, forbidden cheese, and basic family fears and you’ve got yourself one heckuva debut.”

I always cite Wimpy Kid as the whole reason paper books have no reason to fear the electronic uprising.  Consider its status.  Any kid can go to Funbrain.com and read Wimpy Kid online for free.  That’s their choice.  But you know what they really want?  To get their hands on the paper edition.  Maybe it’s the diary format but kids want to hold that puppy in their hands and turn the pages themselves without any smooth electronic gobblety-gook in the way.

Can you believe that since its publication its gotten its own Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon:

Movie:

And . . . okay, just a balloon and a movie.  Still, not too shabby for a former webcomic, no?

• Be sure to read this post by designer Chad Beckerman on the many different Wimpy Kid covers out there fro
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