Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Written and Illustrated by: Jeff Kinney

Age Group: 3^rd and 4^th Grade

Published: 2007

The story Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a novel in cartoon characters and a #1 New York Times Best seller. The story follows the life of a middle school boy Greg Heffley and his best friend Rowley. They are dealing with the older cooler boys in school, parents just not understanding and just trying to fit in. When his best friend Rowley starts hanging out with the cooler boys, Greg needs to figure out a way of getting him back. In the end of the book Greg helps out Rowley and they are back to hanging out everyday after school.

This story deals with situations that all children at this age deal with and have to make it through. The connection of friendship is huge in this book. Greg and Rowley are such good friends and they are always there for each other. The thing about this book that isn’t helpful is that yes it is nice that the author goes by months and clearly labels it, but since he labels each day of the week he needs to have one after the other. While reading he goes from Tuesday and skips Wednesday, and Thursday and goes directly to Friday, this could be confusing for some students.

I think what makes this book so popular is the way the author, Jeff, writes the novel with the pictures and font. He uses paper in the book that have lines, like an actual diary would, so the reader doesn’t feel like they are just reading a regular book. He has cartoon pictures that children get really into because they love to draw cartoons and make up stories. The font he uses is just like the writing of a child; it clearly looks written and not typed out at all. The pictures in the novel don’t happen in any certain order, it seems that when the illustrator has something he wants a picture for, he just writes it in the middle of the page whenever he feels like it. Which makes the book so original and unique.

I would definitely have this book in my classroom for students to read. I would love to have everyone in the class read this book. All students love this book, students are different reading levels, and boys and girls with completely different interests enjoy it.  When they are done reading the book, they can make their own story, where I can see into the lives of my students through writing and art. It can be an ongoing assignment where they write in their diaries each night.