Un-Forgettable Friday: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

*Middle-grade/tween book, contemporary and realistic
*Middle-school boy as main character
*Rating: While listening to the audio book, I laughed out loud in several parts and said, “Oh no!” in others. Jeff Kinney knows how to write for this age group and the parents who are peeking in.

Short, short summary:Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney is the first book in a series of four books about our hero, “a wimpy kid,” Greg Heffley. His diary, which his mother is making him write in, takes readers through a school year in Greg’s life, and all the many realistic, and completely hysterical, problems that a student in middle school can have. Like trying out for The Wizard of Oz school play, being cast as a tree, and deciding not to sing the special song written for you titled, “We Three Trees” to the tune of “We Three Kings.” Or How about creating a haunted house, charging the neighborhood kids, and filling a pool with ketchup for a lake of blood? Surely, no one’s parents will mind . . . Diary of a Wimpy Kid also deals with problems kids have like being good friends, siblings, and homework/tests. I’d recommend this book to anyone!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. If you home school or your children love Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you can actually buy them this book to get them to practice writing and writing about emotions, etc. Let your kids make their own Diary of a Wimpy Kid:

2. In this first book, Greg has a lot of trouble with his best friend, Rowley. They don’t talk to each other for over a month because of something that Greg does. Ask students to write or discuss Greg’s actions toward Rowley. How would they feel if their best friend did what Greg did? How else could Rowley and Greg solve the issues between them? What does Greg expect from a best friend? Does he give the same in return? This should be a lively discussion, and you will see if you have any “Greg Heffleys” in your room.

3. In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rowley and Greg try to make some comic strips for the school newspaper, which is harder than it seems. Ask students to work together or independently (whichever they prefer) and make a comic to share with the class. You could also study some comic sections from the newspaper and talk about the difference between comic strips and political cartoons.

Which one of the four Wimpy Kid books are your or your children’s favorite?