If You Like Judy Moody, Try These 6 Series

The Complete Ramona Collection, by Beverly Cleary 
Ramona Quimby is creative, spirited, and virtually irrepressible. And while the first book in the series, Beezus and Ramona, was published 55 years before Judy Moody came on the literary scene, these two ebullient girls are two quirky peas from the same pod. Ramona exasperates her big sister, Beezus; she pretends there’s a camera on her at all times (and why wouldn’t there be?!); she rides a unicycle; and she once organized a house party—at the age of 4.

Piper Reed series, by Kimberly Willis Holt and Christine Davenier
Piper Reed is a 9-year-old Navy brat who has “lived everywhere. Well, almost everywhere.” Having a father who has to move his family to wherever he’s assigned doesn’t get Piper down, though. Unlike her older sister, Tori, Piper loves it and even wants to be a member of the Blue Angels when she grows up. Piper’s also very different from her younger sister, Sam, the spelling bee prodigy, but it’s the differences that make Piper so very…Piper! She’s adventurous, fearless, and imaginative—she even forms her own club to make friends.

Ivy & Bean series, by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall
Remember your mom saying, “Oh, you should be friends with so-and-so! You’re the same age!” when you were a kid? Or perhaps, ahem, saying it to your own children? Meet Ivy and Bean, two girls who were never meant to be friends—precisely because their mothers thought they should be. Despite the pair’s less-than-auspicious beginnings, this dynamic duo’s friendship is strong, and young readers will love the adventures—and misadventures—Ivy and Bean embark on together.

Stink series, by Megan McDonald and Peter H. Reynolds
Stink Moody isn’t just Judy Moody’s little “bother”—this kid’s got his own stories to tell. In this spin-off series, McDonald entertains readers with Stink’s hilarious tragedies and triumphs, including his horrifying discovery that he may be shrinking and his letter-writing campaign against the injustice of a jawbreaker that didn’t actually succeed in breaking his jaw.

Gooney Bird Greene series, by Lois Lowry and Middy Thomas
When Gooney Bird Greene arrives to her new second grade class wearing pajamas and cowboy boots, she asks for a desk “right smack in the middle of the room” because she likes “to be right smack in the middle of everything.” But there’s more to this unusual girl than her unusual outfits and unusual lunches (sushi with green chopsticks one day, an avocado and oatmeal cookie the next). Her classmates choose Gooney Bird Greene as the main character in their next classroom story, and she proceeds to tell them “absolutely true” stories about herself, including how she spent time in jail and once received some diamond earrings at a palace. And the fanciful, almost unbelievable stories are absolutely true—in a sense.

Clementine series, by Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee
Quirky and unpredictable Clementine is always coming up with “spectacularful ideas” beneath that curly red hair of hers. According to Clementine, “The secret thing I know about ideas is that they sproing into your head you have to grab them fast, or else they get bored and bounce away.” And this kid isn’t about to let any of her ideas bounce away, especially ones as awesomely misguided as trying to glue her own hair to her friend Margaret’s head after Clementine was the one, incidentally, who cut Margaret’s hair off in the first place.
Which books would you recommend to fans of Judy Moody?