Many people have heard of the Jeff Kinney book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It’s super popular with 16 books (so far) and centers around a middle schooler named Greg Heffley. It is written from the perspective of Greg writing in his diary and we’ve read a few of the books here and there (they are always available at the thrift store).
Well, Greg’s best friend got in on the action with his series: The Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid and we are HUGE fans!
Book #1: Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal by Jeff Kinney
Find it here: https://amzn.to/2YpBD7i
- Recommended for ages 9 – 12
- Grade level: 3 – 7
- Lexile measure: 1020L
We started with this book and JACK LOVED IT! Every night before bed we read a chapter or two. Jack and I alternate pages reading out loud, which is great for keeping him engaged and on track with his reading practice. I actually MUCH prefer the Rowley books to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books… because Rowley is really innocent and nice. In fact, in many of his anecdotes about his friendship with Greg, Jack and I discuss how Greg isn’t actually a very good friend to Rowley. This makes for a great jumping off conversation about how you should treat others and what to do if someone isn’t treating you nicely.
I would HIGHLY recommend this book for grade levels 3 and 4. This would actually be a great stocking stuffer or gift for the kiddo in your life too!
Book #3: Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories
Find it here: https://amzn.to/3wkdpYp
- Recommended for ages 9 – 12
- Grade level: 3 – 7
- Lexile measure: 1020L
You may have noticed, I skipped from book 1 to book 3. That’s because the third book in the series is spooky stories told by Rowley… which I thought would be fun for us to read around Halloween. I think Jack liked this book even more than the last and laughed out loud at some of the sillier bits. This totally is not stuck to spooky-season either and would be appropriate all year long. The best part is that the stories are NOT actually spooky at all for a 4th grader.
Book #2: Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure
Find it here: https://amzn.to/2ZXhtlU
- Recommended for ages 9 – 12
- Grade level: 3 – 7
- Lexile measure: 1020L
Jack has been begging for me to buy this book and I just hit ‘order’ over on Amazon. He can’t wait to read the next Rowley adventure and I just love having a kid who wants to read!
You can purchase the all three books for a total of $22 (based on today’s pricing on Amazon) and we have really been loving this series. I’m crossing my fingers that more get published in the future!
Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.