The Week Junior executive editor Mindy Walker explains how "read-alikes" can help children stay excited about reading long after finishing their first book.

The Week Jr., a children's magazine, has created a list of 'read-alike' books to encourage children to continue reading after finishing popular series. Executive editor Mindy Walker highlighted recommendations for young readers who enjoy well-known titles such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Front Desk. 

For fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, books like 'Nat Enough' and 'Jay vs. Kay' are suggested. Those who enjoy Percy Jackson may like 'Amari and the Night Creatures' and 'Impossible Creatures.' For coming-of-age stories, 'The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora' and 'Parachute Kids' are recommended. The full list of suggestions is available at The Week Jr.'s website.

How to keep your child hooked on reading

All right, there's nothing like watching a kid dive into a good book, but once they get through that good book, how do you help them find another good book? And then another one after that. In honor of National Book Month, Children's Magazine, The Week Jr. compiled a list of read-alikes, I love this term, books that share themes, genres, and characters to some of the most beloved kids series to help your kids keep reading and get that momentum going. Joining us now is Mindy Walker, executive editor of The Week Jr. Mindy, thank you very much for being here. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, super popular, people have heard of it, it's in the front of every bookstore. If you like that, what should you go to next for kids? Well, right, a lot of kids love Greg, and actually the 20th book is coming out this month of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. So for kids who love Greg and he's so awkward and funny, we suggest Nat Enough is one of our two books that we suggest. This is about a girl named Natalie, she goes by Nat. She is also a middle schooler like Greg, and she's got friendship drama, she's got some bullying, the popular kids, and she's got beautiful comic panels this book is told through, and she has to realize, is she enough just being herself, Nat Enough? And then the other book that we suggest is Jay vs. Kay, and this is actually written by the amazing authors Jerry Craft and Kwame Alexander. Jay stands for Jerry, Kay stands for Kwame, and they are fifth graders in this book, and Jay loves to draw, Kay loves to write, and they are competing in a storytelling contest. They're big rivals, they both wanna win it, and they end up collaborating together, but then the big plot twist. Wait, don't tell us! No, no, I can, it's okay. Is that the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Skinney makes an appearance. So it's definitely a great book for those people, yeah. Okay, when we were talking about this segment, somebody was like, oh, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, one of our colleagues loves this book. For people who love that book, what do you recommend? Right, that's about a regular kid who ends up working with Greek gods and fighting monsters. So for that book, we definitely suggest Amari and the Night Creatures. That book is about a girl named Amari, and her brother is missing, and she discovers this briefcase that leads her to this secret world. She's determined to find him, and it's a mythical world, but it's also very competitive. She has to really fight to try to find him. So, and then the other book we love for that is Impossible Creatures, and that's about a boy named Christopher, he's just doing this good deed, and he stumbles upon this island of tons of different islands that have magical creatures there, unicorns and dragons, but the magic that keeps them alive is dying out, and so it's up to him to try to figure out how can we save these kids. What about coming of age stories? What do you recommend there? Well, so for one of the most popular coming of age right now is Front Desk, and that's a great series about a girl named Mia. She works the front desk of a motel that her parents manage. Her parents are Chinese immigrants, and there's a lot to navigate there, and so she also wants to be a writer. So, for those people, we suggest the epic fail of Arturo Zamoro, and like Mia, he works in his family's restaurant. It's a Cuban-American restaurant in Miami, and he has a great life, but then all of a sudden, these developers come, and they wanna get rid of the restaurant, and so he has to really work together with the community to take care of that. And then the other book that's a really great coming of age one would be Parachute Kids, and that's about a set of three siblings. The book is set in 1981, so cell phone free, and these three kids come to live in America. They're from Taiwan, and it's based partly on the author's experience. Amazing, Mindy Walker, thank you so much. To find the whole list of book recommendations, head over to theweekjr.com. I wanna read these.

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