Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Published by Amulet Books
A novel in cartoons by Jeff Kinney
You know something big is happening in the literary world when you start typing “Diary of…” into your Google search bar and the first two suggestions that pop up are “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and “Diary of Anne Frank,” in that order. Isn’t that interesting, especially since Diary of a Wimpy Kid, “is a JOURNAL, not a diary” according to the novel’s protagonist, Greg Heffley. Greg, a loveable but sometimes annoying sixth grader, shares his journey through middle school (and soon, high school!) with countless readers around the world. Luckily for us, Greg is an avid writer who captures the emotions of every almost-middle-schooler in his witty prose and to the point illustrations. While browsing the Internet for some fun facts about this series, I discovered that Jeff Kinney started out as a cartoonist and worked on the idea of Wimpy Kid for over six years before, wait for it, he began publishing what would eventually become a book in daily, blog-like installments!!! Just think! All of these blog posts we are writing could one day, maybe, lead to one of the most successful young adult series in recent times!
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| book #2 |
Too bad we’re not writing fiction in any of our classes….just kidding! According to
http://www.wimpykid.com/, “the online version of
Diary of a Wimpy Kid has had more than 80 million visits, and is typically read by more than 70,000 kids a day.” That’s something to talk about! That also might explain why my “Diary of…” search prompted me with “a Wimpy Kid.” This graphic novel is a trailblazer in the realm of blogging and online literature. Kinney started publishing the online version of
Wimpy Kid on
http://www.funbrain.com/ and, after the success of
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, he was asked to create another remarkable website,
http://www.poptropica.com/. While both of these websites are wonderful for children (and adults…I just spent a half hour exploring them), funbrain.com is an awesome tool for the classroom (poptropica.com is more of a continuous online video game where kids can create avatars and explore places, some educational, some not, all fun). Funbrain.com has flash arcades for reading, math, and other subject matter. You can play math baseball, create your own Mad Libs, Jr., Grammar Gorillas, or just read a Web Book (like
Wimpy Kid).
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| book #3 |
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie” was fourth on my original Google search suggestions, so that also speaks volumes. This series, like many now a days, has been made into a major motion film; I bring this up now, on my children’s literature blog, because in a rare twist of fate, this movie inspired by a book inspired another book:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie Diary. This movie book is actually very interesting, and tracks Greg Heffley and Zachary Gordon, the young actor that plays Greg, through the entire creative process. Jeff Kinney shows his readers behind the scene of the original
Diary, its sequels and, eventually, its big screen adaptation came to be. Kinney also has a
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book that helps inspire young comics and authors to take Greg Heffley on his next adventure.
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| book #4 |
While I would love to incorporate these books into my classroom if I had a third, fourth, or fifth grade class, many teachers and parents do not feel the same unconditional love towards Greg Heffley’s journal. This book talks about real things, from the viewpoint of a very realistic character and sometimes, real life is less than ideal. Greg does face bullies, social ostracisms, and worst of all, the Cheese Touch, over the course of the first novel. Some critics believe that these topics are not appropriate for classroom instruction, others believe that by introducing such controversial topics and exposing kids/tweens to journaling, these books are the best tools a classroom can have. It should be pretty obvious by now which side I am on, but that doesn’t mean that I do not see any flaws in Greg Heffley’s lifestyle: although Greg is bullied, he is sometimes a bully himself; Greg is picked on by his older brother, Rodrick, but Greg picks on his younger brother, Manny. Good or bad, this series is definitely worth the read and book five comes out in thirteen days so hurry up and get started!
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| Coming Soon! |
When I first looked through these books, I was concerned about the abundance of illustration, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it gets kids reading. In my practicum classroom, I have seen boys who "hate" reading and try to find anything else but reading to do, who will then pick up this book and tear through it. I don't know if popularity with their "reader" friends is a motivating factor as well, but either way, I'm glad to see them reading!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I had no idea that Kinney had such an involved back story to these books. Thanks for the research.
PS I got distracted on FunBrain for a while too!
My students love these books! I remember seeing my little brother get into it and wondering what the hype is all about...and you seemed to have answered those questions! The other day my students were telling me about the book and I got an entire plot summary and some of the acting from the movie. I also know that they have come out with a "Create Your Own" Diary of a Wimpy Kid that some of my students have actually done. I think that this book series is great in that it encourages and motivates students to write.
ReplyDeleteMy nephew is a bright and happy 4th grader who was diagnosed last month with dyslexia and dysgraphia. Last year, he finally got hooked on books thanks to The Wimpy Kid! That's a pretty impressive endorsement for these great books. Not only did Wimpy Kid turn a reluctant reader into a child who SPRINTED into the bookstore but these books segued him to comic books and now the Tintin and even the Akiko series! Bravo for Captain Underpants and kudos to Wimpy Kid for filling an everpresent weakness in the book market.
ReplyDeleteJen, you presented a good overview of the debate about the contents of these journals. Parents may want exemplars to be protagonists of children's literature but is that reality? Is that compelling? Do these characters pull the reluctant reader away from the video games or basketball court and draw them to a book? I don't think so. If characters are black and white rather than grey, aren't they just cardboard figures rather than literary incarnations of human beings? I'm not sure I've ever really met anyone who is not a lovely shade of grey. Greg is grey. He is relatable. He provides a compelling topic for conversation, debate, and ... learning! Hurray for the Wimpy Kid series!