DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kinney, Jeff. 2007. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID. New York: Amulet. ISBN 0810993139

PLOT SUMMARY
Greg Heffley is a middle school student who tells the reader about a year of events in middle school through sketches and journal entries. Greg discusses what his life is like with an older brother, younger brother and a best friend named Rowley. He tries to fit in at school and finds that it is not easy. Rowley and Greg have several adventures together including, trick-or-treating and snowball making, somehow things do not turn out as he plans them to.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Jeff Kinney has written this book with engaging characters and the preteen dialogue which allows the story to come to life. Readers of many ages will be able to connect with Greg’s mishaps in Middle School and with his family. Humor is found in the many situations in which he finds himself, such as dressed as a tree in the school play, having to go trick-or-treating with his father and little brother on Halloween, and having his mom as a substitute teacher. The cartoon sketches allow the pages to come to life and they give the reader a visual picture of the situation in which Greg has found himself. The pictures allow the story to be an easy and enjoyable read. This is an immediately engaging graphic novel that will motivate boys to keep on reading, to learn what happens next.

REVIEWS
School Library Journal Review: “Kinney does a masterful job of making the mundane life of boys on the brink of adolescence hilarious.”
Starred review in Publishers Weekly: “Kinney ably skewers familiar aspects of junior high life, from dealing with the mysteries of what makes someone popular to the trauma of a wrestling unit in gym class.”
Horn Book Review: “Kinney's writing and illustrations are filled with laugh-out-loud kid humor.”

CONNECTIONS
*Students may enjoy writing their own graphic novel.
*Read more about Greg’s middle school adventures in DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LAST STRAW.
*Look for these other graphic novels:
Holm, Jennifer. MIDDLE SCHOOL IS WORSE THAN MEATLOAF: A YEAR TOLD THROUGH STUFF. ISBN 0689852819
Kinney, Jeff. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES. ISBN 0810994739