Read after

What to read after
"Tom Gates: Excellent Excuses (and Other Good Stuff)"

Your kid finished Tom Gates: Excellent Excuses (and Other Good Stuff). Here are 8 books matched across 30 dimensions — not by what other people bought.

The book they finished

Tom Gates: Excellent Excuses (and Other Good Stuff)

by Liz Pichon

A diary-doodle comedy about an ordinary British boy whose creative excuses and artistic talents collide with school, siblings, and an unexpected standing ovation.

Kid 65 Parent 55 Teacher 60 Ages 7-10

8 books matched on the same reader profile

Each pick scored its match using the 30-dimension data we record on every book — interest hooks (e.g. epic worldbuilding, friendship arcs), character appeal, emotional core, tone, pacing. The "why it matches" line under each book tells you exactly why it should land.

1
Hot Mess

by Jeff Kinney

Kid 62 Parent 54 Teacher 60 Ages 8-11
Why it matches "Tom Gates: Excellent Excu…"
- • Same genre (comedy)
- • Both comedic in tone
- • Same pacing (steady clip)
- • Same emotional weight (light)
Full review →
2
Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth

by Barbara Park

Kid 64 Parent 61 Teacher 64 Ages 5-7
Why it matches "Tom Gates: Excellent Excu…"
- • Same genre (comedy)
- • Both comedic in tone
- • Same pacing (steady clip)
- • Same emotional weight (light)
Full review →
3
Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess

by Rachel Renée Russell

Kid 67 Parent 45 Teacher 47 Ages 8-11
Why it matches "Tom Gates: Excellent Excu…"
- • Same genre (comedy)
- • Both comedic in tone
- • Same pacing (steady clip)
- • Same emotional weight (light)
Full review →
4
Big Nate Comics 3-Book Collection: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, Here Goes Nothing, Genius Mode

by Lincoln Peirce

Kid 64 Parent 52 Teacher 52 Ages 8-11
Why it matches "Tom Gates: Excellent Excu…"
- • Same genre (comedy)
- • Both comedic in tone
- • Same emotional weight (light)
- • Same tension source (social threat)
Full review →
5
Big Nate Lives It Up

by Lincoln Peirce

Kid 59 Parent 57 Teacher 65 Ages 8-10
Why it matches "Tom Gates: Excellent Excu…"
- • Same genre (comedy)
- • Both comedic in tone
- • Same pacing (steady clip)
- • Same tension source (social threat)
Full review →
6
In a Class by Himself

by Lincoln Peirce

Kid 68 Parent 53 Teacher 55 Ages 8-11
Why it matches "Tom Gates: Excellent Excu…"
- • Same genre (comedy)
- • Both comedic in tone
- • Same pacing (steady clip)
- • Same emotional weight (light)
Full review →
7
Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker

by Megan McDonald

Kid 57 Parent 54 Teacher 59 Ages 6-8
Why it matches "Tom Gates: Excellent Excu…"
- • Same genre (comedy)
- • Both comedic in tone
- • Same pacing (steady clip)
- • Same emotional weight (light)
Full review →
8
A Fabumouse Vacation for Geronimo

by Geronimo Stilton

Kid 64 Parent 50 Teacher 53 Ages 7-9
Why it matches "Tom Gates: Excellent Excu…"
- • Same genre (comedy)
- • Both comedic in tone
- • Same pacing (steady clip)
- • Same emotional weight (light)
Full review →

Want a match made for YOUR kid specifically?

These matches are profile-against-profile. Take the 2-minute SPARK quiz and we'll match a book to your kid's actual reading personality — interest, habits, what holds them.

Take the SPARK quiz →

How these matches are scored

We score every children's book on KidsBookCheck across 30 dimensions — kid-side (laugh-out-loud, plot twists, mental movie, heart-punch, character voice, etc.), parent-side (writing quality, moral reasoning, vocabulary, age-fit), and teacher-side (read-aloud power, discussion fuel, empathy building). Plus rich metadata: tone, pacing, emotional weight, interest hooks, character appeal, emotional core, tension source, humor style.

For every book, our profile-match algorithm finds others where the most heavily-weighted dimensions overlap. That's why these matches feel different from "readers also enjoyed" — we're matching by what hooks the same reader, not by who else bought it. More about our scoring →