Diary of a Wimpy Kid (book)

Diary of a Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Wimpy Kid is a
children's novel
written and
illustrated by
Jeff Kinney. It is
the first book in
the Diary of a
Wimpy Kid
series. The
book is about a
boy named
Greg Heffley
Cover of the first edition of the book
and his
attempts to Author Jeff Kinney
become Illustrator Jeff Kinney
popular in
middle school. Jeff Kinney
Cover artist
Chad W. Beckerman
Diary of a
Wimpy Kid first Country United States
appeared on Language English
FunBrain in Series Diary of a Wimpy Kid
2004, where it
Genre Comedy, young adult fiction
was read
20 million Publisher Amulet Books[1]
times.[1] The
Publication
abridged April 1, 2007[2]
date
hardcover
adaptation was Media type Print (paperback, hardcover)
released on Pages 221
April 1, 2007.[2] ISBN 978-0-14-330383-1 [1]
The book was
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick
named a New Followed by
Rules
York Times
bestseller, among other awards and praise. A film of the
same name was released on March 19, 2010. Three sequels
were released: Rodrick Rules, Dog Days and The Long Haul.

Contents
1 Plot
2 Background
3 Characters
4 Sequels
5 Awards
6 Adaptations
7 References
8 External links

Plot
Greg Heffley, the middle school protagonist, clarifies that
"this is a JOURNAL, not a diary." He then explains that he
only agreed to write in one for when he is "rich and famous,"
and "for now, I'm stuck in middle school with a bunch of
morons." Greg then discusses the Cheese at his school. It
started when someone left a piece of cheese on the
blacktop, and it got moldy. If someone touches it, they have
the "Cheese Touch," which they are stuck with until they
pass it on by touching someone else. However, the last
victim of the Cheese Touch moved away, and Greg hopes
nobody starts it up again. He also talks about his best friend,
Rowley. Although Greg wants to be famous and explains
popularity to Rowley, "it just goes in one ear and out the
other with him."

Greg then introduces his family. He has a teenage brother,

Rodrick, who likes to pick on him, and a little brother, a
toddler named Manny, who gets everything he wants and
gets away with everything he does wrong. Greg's father
does not encourage his way of life — playing video games all
day — rather than going outside and playing sports.

Near Halloween, Greg writes that his father likes to hide in

the bushes on Halloween day and drench teenagers with a
trash can of water. Greg and Rowley decide to make their
own haunted house, although they end up profiting only two
dollars. On Halloween day, Greg and Rowley go trick-or-
treating, but are challenged by a group of teenagers who
spray them with a water-filled fire extinguisher. When they
get home, they are mistakenly soaked by Greg's father.

Greg fails a geography test after a girl named Patty Farrel

catches him cheating. At home, Greg's mother forces him
into auditioning for the school play (based on The Wizard of
Oz). Greg lands the role as a tree, while Patty Farrel is cast
as Dorothy, the protagonist of the novel. During the show's
performance, Greg becomes too nervous to sing, confusing
the other trees. Patty gets frustrated, and Greg starts
throwing props at Patty. The other trees join in, and while
Greg's mother is disappointed, Greg ends up enjoying the
play due to him getting back at Patty.

After getting a few presents for Christmas, Greg decides to

play a game with Rowley in which Rowley must ride a bike
while Greg tries to knock him off with a football. On one of
Greg's tries, the ball gets under the front wheel, which
causes Rowley to fall off and break his arm. When Rowley
goes to school with a plaster cast, the girls take care of him
(carrying his books, feeding him food), which makes Greg
jealous.

Greg decides to join the Safety Patrols at his school, hoping

that he will get authority. He gets Rowley to sign up as well,
and enjoys the benefits of being in the Safety Patrol, such as
getting free hot chocolate. He tries to get a spot in the
school's newspaper as a cartoonist, and teams up with
Rowley. Greg comes up with a strip called Zoo-Wee Mama!
Greg starts wanting to do other strips, but Rowley wants to
continue with Zoo-Wee Mama! Greg submits his comics to
the teacher, and ends up getting the cartoonist job.
However, the teacher completely changes Greg's comic,
even making his character a "curious student" instead of a
"cretin."

After an incident where Greg chases some kindergartners

with a worm on a stick and is mistaken for Rowley, Rowley
gets fired from the Safety Patrols. However, after it gets
cleared up that Greg was the real culprit, Rowley is re-hired
and promoted while Greg is kicked off.

Greg notices that the school year is coming to a close and

tries to get on the yearbook's Class Favorites page. He plans
to go for "Class Clown," but his plans do not work out. At
lunch, he gets an issue of the school newspaper, and learns
that Rowley is the new cartoonist, with his Zoo-Wee Mama!
strip left unchanged.

Greg confronts Rowley for not even listing him as co-creator

and hogging all the fame. As they argue, the teenagers who
chased them at Halloween appear and force Greg and
Rowley to eat the Cheese. Greg lies that he's lactose
intolerant, while Rowley is forced to eat the whole thing. The
next day, when everyone notices that the Cheese is gone,
Greg takes the fall for Rowley and lies that he threw it away.
Greg reconciles with Rowley and lets people think that he
has the Cheese Touch.

The book concludes with Greg getting his yearbook, seeing

Rowley on the "Class Clown" page, and throwing it in the
garbage.

Background
In 2004, FunBrain and Jeff Kinney released an online version
of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The website made daily entries until
June 2005.[3] The book became an instant hit and the online
version, and had received approximately 20 million views by
2007.[1] Many online readers requested a printed version. At
the 2006 New York Comic-Con Kinney proposed Diary to
Charles Kochman, Editorial Director of the ComicArts
division of Abrams Books, who purchased the rights to the
book. According to Kochman, the two initially conceived it as
a book for adults, believing it would appeal to audiences
similar to that of the TV series The Wonder Years. Kochman
brought it before the Abrams publishing board, which
convinced Kinney and Kochman that it would be better
aimed toward children.[4][5] In 2007, Diary of a Wimpy Kid,
an abridged version of the original online book, was
published.[6][7]

Characters
Main article: List of Diary of a Wimpy Kid characters

Gregory Heffley

Main article: Greg Heffley

The main character, Greg, has trouble with family, friends,

and his local middle school. He is very concerned about how
popular he is at school, and he daydreams a lot about being
rich and famous when he grows up. He tries to fit in at his
school, but usually he does not succeed. Facing many
challenges, Greg attempts to handle them very creatively,
but unfortunately his antics often backfire on him.

Rowley Jefferson

Greg's best friend has a larger than average frame. He is

always willing to do what Greg tells him, including dangerous
stunts. Rowley goes on vacations all the time, which annoys
Greg. Rowley is a loyal friend, but he sometimes behaves in
an immature or childish manner. He also dresses in an
unusual way.

Manny Heffley

Greg's "spoiled" little brother, a three-year-old toddler. He

never gets in trouble no matter what, even when he really
deserves it. Manny is just getting toilet trained.
Rodrick Heffley

Rodrick is Greg's teenage brother and he never misses a

chance to be cruel to Greg. He is known for sleeping
excessively in the morning and for his rebellious attitude.
Rodrick is part of a basement band (garage band in the
movies) called "Löded Diper". Rodrick will do anything to
embarrass Greg and will even cause problems for Manny to
make everyone's life miserable.

Sequels
Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (book series)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the first book in an ongoing

franchise. A total of fourteen Wimpy Kid books have been
released, the sequels to the first book are: Rodrick Rules
(2008) which was listed on the New York Times Best Sellers
list for 117 weeks,[8] The Last Straw (2009) which was on the
New York Times Best Sellers list for 65 weeks, peaking at
number one,[9] Dog Days (2009) which was ranked at
number one on the New York Times Best Sellers List for all
25 weeks of inclusion, making it the #1 best selling book of
2009,[10] The Ugly Truth (2010),[11] Cabin Fever (2011),[12]
The Third Wheel (2012), Hard Luck (2013), The Long Haul
(2014), Old School (2015),[13] Double Down (2016),[14] The
Getaway (2017),[15] The Meltdown, (2018)[16] and Wrecking
Ball (2019).[17]
Awards
The book won the Blue Peter Book Award 2012, revealed live
on British kids channel CBBC on March 1, 2012.[18]

Adaptations
Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film)

A film adaptation, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was released by

20th Century Fox on March 19, 2010.[19][20][21][22] The film
stars Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley, Robert Capron as
Rowley Jefferson, Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley (Dad),
Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley (Mom), Devon Bostick as
Rodrick Heffley, Chloë Grace Moretz as Angie Steadman,
and Connor & Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Greg's
brother.

References
1. ^ a b c d "Diary of A Wimpy Kid details". Amulet Books.
2007-04-13. Archived from the original on 2011-11-12.
Retrieved 2011-11-18.
2. ^ a b Kinney, Jeff (April 1, 2007). Diary of a wimpy kid
(Hardcover ed.). New York: Amulet Books. ISBN 978-
0810993136.
3. Kinney, Patrick; HQ, Who (2015-08-18). Who Is Jeff
Kinney?. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-399-53970-1.
 4. Vorce, Kristin (August 11, 2011). "Abrams Books:
Making Publishing an Art" Archived 2013-10-23 at the
Wayback Machine. NYU Pub Posts.
5. Thomases, Martha (September 7, 2008). "Interview:
Harry N. Abrams’ Charles Kochman" Archived 2013-10-
17 at the Wayback Machine. ComicMix.
6. Jeff Kinney (2012). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Movie
Diary. Amulet Group. p. 6-7. ISBN 978-0810996168.
7. Norris, Michelle (May 31, 2012). "June Kids' Book Club
Pick: 'Diary Of A Wimpy Kid'". NPR. Retrieved April 22,
2020.
8. Kinney, Jeff (February 2008). Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
Rodrick Rules. Amulet Books. ISBN 978-0-8109-9313-
6.
9. Kinney, Jeff (January 2009). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The
Last Straw. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books.
10. Dixler, Elsa. "The New York Times Best Sellers:
Children's Books". The New York Times. Archived from
the original on 2010-04-20. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
11. Kinney, Jeff (October 2010). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The
Ugly Truth. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books.
12. Kinney, Jeff (November 2011). Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
Cabin Fever. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books.
13. "Latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid Debuts as Global
Bestseller". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the
original on 2015-12-09. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
14. McClurg, Jocelyn (November 9, 2016). "'Wimpy Kid'
 flies high, hits No. 1 on USA TODAY's list". USA Today.
Retrieved April 20, 2020.
15. Bolton, Tamra (October 24, 2017). "Diary of a Wimpy
Kid The Getaway To Be Released Nov. 7: See The
Trailer!". Parade. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
16. Kantor, Emma (November 8, 2018). "On the Road with
'Wimpy Kid' Creator Jeff Kinney: 'The Meltdown' Tour".
Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
17. Kantor, Emma (September 12, 2019). "Wimpy Kid Hits
the Road, Goes Green". Retrieved April 20, 2020.
18. "Blue Peter Book Awards 2012". BookTrust. Archived
from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 8 December
2015.
19. Breznican, Anthony (September 29, 2009). "First Look:
'Wimpy Kid' actor embraces being 'a likable jerk'". USA
Today. Archived from the original on 2009-10-03.
Retrieved October 20, 2009.
20. McNary, Dave (August 3, 2009). "Steve Zahn to star in
'Wimpy Kid'". Variety. Archived from the original on
2009-10-09. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
21. McCarron, Heather (October 12, 2009). "Nothing
'Wimpy' about local author's success". Milford Daily
News. Archived from the original on 2009-10-15.
Retrieved October 20, 2009.
22. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)". Box Office Mojo.
Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on
2010-08-06. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Diary of a Wimpy
Kid (book)

Official website
Diary of a Wimpy Kid on FunBrain.com
Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Channel One News Interview
with Jeff Kinney on Channel One News
The Wonderful World of Wimpy - Parade magazine An
interview with Jeff Kinney in Parade Magazine

hide

v
t
e

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Rodrick Rules
The Last Straw
Dog Days
The Ugly Truth
Cabin Fever
The Third Wheel
Main series Hard Luck
The Long Haul
Old School
Double Down
The Getaway
The Meltdown
Wrecking Ball
Novels The Deep End
 Diary of an Awesome
Friendly Kid: Rowley
Jefferson's Journal
Rowley
Awesome Friendly
Jefferson
Adventure
series
Awesome Friendly Spooky
Stories

The Wimpy Kid Do-It-

Supplementary Yourself Book
material The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary
(The Next Chapter)

Characters Greg Heffley

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Rodrick Rules
Film series Dog Days
The Long Haul