Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid  
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.png
The logo of the series, appearing on the book covers, blogs, webcomic, and the films.
Author(s) Jeff Kinney
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Realistic fiction
Publisher Scholastic Publishing / Amulet Books
Publication date April 1, 2007 – present
Media type Print (paperback), (hardback)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of fiction books written by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney.[1] The books are the journals of the main character, whose name is Greg Heffley. Befitting a child's diary, they are filled with hand written notes and simple drawings of his daily adventures.[2][3] The first three books of the series are based on a visual novel featured on FunBrain; the other books are thought to derive from the visual novel as well, but the series' website denies this. The series of books revolve around Greg's life in middle school, his social interactions with friends and girls, and his life at home with his dysfunctional family.

Contents

Books

Diary of a Wimpy Kid was well received from the Princeton Review, Gold Card Association, The Dallas News, The TRR Editors, The NW Press, and The JJ Printing Company.

There are six books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and soon to be seven in 2012, each one of them has a different color:


Extra books and posters

  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (October 1, 2008) (color: orange in hardcover, red in paperback, 2009 international edition in gold, 2011 extended edition in bright brown with some orange at the sides)
  • The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary (Originally released in 2010, and re-released in 2011) (color: white)
  • A red American Library Association poster endorsed by Jeff Kinney is also available. It features Greg Heffley reading a book on a toilet with the ALA slogan, "READ".
  • Another poster that can be found in Wal-Mart features snipets of drawings from the books featuring Greg only.
  • There is a poster for every book except for Do-It-Yourself

About the books

  • The first book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is about Greg, Rowley, and the Cheese Touch.
  • The second book, Rodrick Rules is about Greg, Rodrick, the Mom Bucks program, and the school talent show.
  • The third book, The Last Straw is about the conflict between Greg and his father, Holly Hills, the soccer team, and Spag Union Military Academy.
  • The fourth book, Dog Days is about Greg's bad summer vacation, his mom, and their new dog, Sweetie.
  • The fifth book, The Ugly Truth is about Greg and Rowley's disfriendship, his great-grandmother Gammie, puberty, and his Uncle Gary's engagement.
  • The sixth book, Cabin Fever is about the playground, the holiday bizaar, the police, Chistmas, and the blizzard.
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (published after Rodrick Rules and before The Last Straw) is an activity book that features a blank section encouraging readers to keep their own journal in the style of the books.
  • The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book: Extended Edition (published after Wimpy Kid Movie Diary 2 and before Cabin Fever) is the same book as the first Do-It-Yourself Book, but with extra 60 pages and 16 more full-color comics.
  • The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary is an informative book that features stills from the film of the same name, brand-new illustrations, and informs readers on how the movie was made. Jeff Kinney dedicated the book to Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron, the stars of the movie.
  • The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary 2: Rodrick Rules is the same informative book which has the features from the first film, but it also features stills from the second film, Rodrick Rules, more new illustrations, and informs readers how the second movie was made.

Toys and Games

Action figures include: a mini figure pack (with Greg, Rowley, Fregley), a 6 inch Greg Heffley figure, a 6 inch holiday figure based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever, and a Greg and Rodrick plushy.

Games include: Wimpy Kid Uno, Scrabble, and a Cheese Touch board game.

Audio books

Six audio books have been released for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

Major themes

Jealousy

Some parts of the books focus on Greg's jealousy with Rowley getting attention. When Rowley turns in Zoo-Wee-Mama in for the school paper, none of it was changed by Mr. Ira, the editor of the school paper, however he completely changed Greg's comic. This makes Greg so mad, he stops being friends with Rowley, with also occurs at the end of the fourth book, Dog Days.[4]

Achievements

Awards and Honors

Award Category Result
#1 New York Times Best Seller (114 weeks) Won
2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Book Won
2009 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Book Won
ALA Notable Book Won
2010 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Book[5] Won
2010 Most Favorite Book Around The World Won
2011 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Book Won

Commercial success

The New York Times, which ranks children's serials collectively on a "Series Books" bestseller list, has included the Wimpy Kid series for 64 weeks as of April 10, 2010.[6] USA Today, which ranks best sellers based on sales alone regardless of genre or intended audience, has listed Diary of a Wimpy Kid in its top 150, peaking at number 8, for 141 weeks as of April 4, 2010. As of the same date, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules has been on the list for 117 weeks (peaking at number 4), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw has been on the list for 65 weeks (peaking at number 1), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days has been on the list for all 25 weeks of its publication (peaking at number 1), and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary has been listed for all three weeks of its publication, peaking at number 2.[7] As of May 2010, more than 32 million Wimpy Kid books are in print in the U.S., and the books have been sold in more than 30 countries.[8]

Films

Jeff Kinney announced that a film based on the first book would be produced by 20th Century Fox. The film was released on March 19, 2010, moved up from an April 2 release date.[9] It was directed by Thor Freudenthal, who also directed Hotel for Dogs. The film starred Zachary Gordon as Greg, Robert Capron as Rowley (Greg's best friend), Steve Zahn as Frank (Greg's father), Rachael Harris as Susan (Greg's mother), Devon Bostick as Rodrick (Greg's older brother), Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny (Greg's younger brother), Chloë Moretz as a new character named Angie, and Grayson Russell as Fregley.[10][11]

There is a second film in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series that was released on March 25, 2011,[12] which was based on the second book, Rodrick Rules, with Zachary Gordon returning as Greg Heffley. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was also filmed in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Dog Days is currently in production.[13]

References

  1. ^ All about Jeff Kinney
  2. ^ Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books. ISBN 0810993139. 
  3. ^ Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books. ISBN 0810993139. 
  4. ^ Kinney, Jeff (2009). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. Abrams Books. p. 217. 
  5. ^ Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, nick.com
  6. ^ Dixler, Elsa. "The New York Times Best Sellers: Children's Books". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/books/bestseller/bestchildren.html. Retrieved May 7, 2011. 
  7. ^ "USA Today: Best-Selling Books Database". USA Today. April 21, 2011. http://content.usatoday.com/life/books/booksdatabase/default.aspx. Retrieved May 7, 2011. 
  8. ^ "Release Date Revealed for Wimpy Kid #5". Publishers Weekly. May 20, 2010. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/43240-release-date-revealed-for-wimpy-kid-5.html. Retrieved May 7, 2011. 
  9. ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules – On Double DVD and Blu-ray Now". Diaryofawimpykidmovie.com. http://www.diaryofawimpykidmovie.com/. Retrieved May 7, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)" on IMDb.com
  11. ^ ""Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)" on". Comingsoon.net. March 19, 2010. http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=52034. Retrieved May 7, 2011. 
  12. ^ 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Sequel to Bow Next March. Moviefone.com. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  13. ^ Perri, Nemiroff (March 17, 2011). "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3 is already in the works". CinemaBlend. http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Diary-Of-A-Wimpy-Kid-3-Is-Already-In-The-Works-23734.html. Retrieved March 24, 2011. 

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