Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid denotes a book series authored by penman Jeff Kinney. Diary of a Wimpy Kid also refers to the first book in the said series. Kinney, who is an American scribbler, was born Jeffrey Patrick Kinney in February 1971. A quadragenarian, Kinney’s birthplace is Andrews Air Force Base but predominantly spent his formative years in Fort Washington upon Maryland in the US; however, Kinney is presently domiciled in Plainville upon Massachusetts. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid started out its life as on online comic created by Kinney, and due to its popularity Kinney signed a deal with Amulet Books to publish the series in print, with the first book released to much fanfare in April 2007. Since then, several more books in the series have been released, as well as three films based on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of books.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of books features Greg Heffley as the titular wimpy kid, and it details how difficult he is finding his life in middle school, as well as his life at home being the middle child.

In the first book in the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, we are introduced to Greg as he is getting ready to start at middle school, a harrowing time for any child, never mind one who is bullied by his older brother. Add in the fact that he sees his younger brother as ‘spoilt’, and life at home is not as perfect as Greg would hope. The book then charts Greg’s life in his first year at middle school, with run-ins with teenage bullies, wrestling and his best friend Rowley.

The second book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Rodrick Rules, is against a diary of Greg’s life at middle school, but also goes further into the relationship that Greg has with his older brother, Rodrick. The main point of focus for this relationship revolves around the school talent show, which Rodrick is going to appear in with his band, while Greg is less fortunate due to an incident with his best friend Rowley.

The remainder of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series continues in the same vein, with major points in Greg’s life being details, while his trials and tribulations and school and at home continue. The book has become a huge hit worldwide, being translated into dozens of languages and selling in their millions across many continents.

Jeff Kinney, whose niche is exclusively juvenile literature, has other occupations including filmmaking, designing games, and working as a cartoonist. Kinney, a University of Maryland alumnus, did not always aspire to be an author; instead, he aspired to work as a cartoonist.

The idea that ultimately became Diary of a Wimpy Kid gnawed at Jeff Kinney in 1998. It took Kinney eight years to write the earliest book in the series prior to approaching a New York-based publishing house. In the beginning, Kelley used to publish small parts of the book online each day before he signed a book deal with a publisher that wanted to print the materials.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which has since been translated into over fifty languages, comprises of eleven main works and, in total, 33 works including omnibuses and book sets. There are about 116 editions of the first book in Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The first edition was originally published in 2004, titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid; and it is shelved under the fiction (especially realistic fiction), comic novel, sequential art (graphic novels sub-genre), juvenile literature (particularly middle grade sub-genre), and young adult genres.

Greg Heffley is the featured central character in the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. Meet protagonist Greg Heffley: a pupil in sixth grade and hapless weakling who is often bullied. His pastime is playing video games. Heffley’s family comprises of his two parents and two brothers who give him a hard time; Heffley’s mother forces him to keep a diary while his father dissuades him from being obsessed with video games. Heffley’s fellow classmate, called Rowley, is out-and-out annoying.

The turning point in the 2004 book Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the moment Heffley attends school on his first day and, immediately, becomes a social outcast and is bullied constantly. Then Heffley befriends and teams up with Rowley; the duo is a mischievous lot. Later on, Heffley tries to make up for it by befriending everyone and destigmatizing in this multi-award-winning book.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Awards

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a multi-award-winning debut book and the following are the awards it has bagged to date. In 2007, Kinney’s book Diary of a Wimpy Kid clinched Borders Original Voices Award, in the YA or Independent Reader category. Kinney has clinched the BILBY Awards thrice (twice in 2010 and once in 2012), in the Younger Readers category. In 2009, the said book bagged the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award, in the Younger Readers category. Also in 2009, the book bagged two more awards namely Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award and North Carolina Children’s Book Award.

In 2009, Jeff Kinney’s forth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, titled Dog Days, bagged the Goodreads Choice Award, in the Children’s Book category. In 2011, Kinney’s fifth book, The Ugly Book, clinched the BILBY Awards, in the Younger Readers category; and clinched the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award, also in the Younger Readers grouping. In 2010, the said book also bagged the Goodreads Choice Award, in the Middle Grade & Children’s Book categories.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books into Movies

There are film adaptations of four of the books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. There are films called Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010 film), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011 film), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (a 2012 film adapted from the books titled The Last Straw coupled with Dog Days), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2017 film). Zachary Gordon is the starring actor, appearing as Greg Heffley, in the first three books while Jason Drucker plays as Grey Heffley in the 2017 film.

Best Diary of a Wimpy Kid books

These are the best books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid>: The first is the aforementioned Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Dog Days: Hereby, Heffley is angling for spending his vacation doing indoor activities, contrary to his mother’s expectation of him bonding with the rest of the family and venturing outdoors.

The Ugly Book: Heffley, who is no longer in talking terms with Rowley, is grappling with the changes associated with growing up and his bosom friend is no there to guide and give him moral support.

Other Books You May Like

Readers who liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid series also liked the following book series. The first is “Captain Underpants” series, authored by Dav Pilkey. It features two Ohio-based forth grade pupils and a superhero called Captain Underpants. The second is “Big Nate Novels” series, penned by Lincoln Peirce. It recounts the ups and downs of a lively but defiant sixth grade pupil called Nate Wright. The third is Dear Dumb Diary series, authored by Jim Benton. It features protagonist Jamie Kelly, a middle school pupil whose opinionated diary entries are supposedly true.

What Is The Next Book in The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Series?

There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Series. The newest book is Hot Mess and was released on October, 22nd 2024.

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