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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2009 > January > 25 > Entry
it is all about that Wimpy Kid…
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw” by Jeff Kinney, (Amulet Books, 218 pages, $12.95)
One of the treasured aspects of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books is that they transformed millions of young people into avid readers. The ending of that series leaves a void.
Teachers and librarians seek out books that might tantalize our youth into becoming devoted readers. Boys in the middle school years, “tweens” ages 8-12, are a particular concern. Often they are reluctant readers.
A current series, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” by Jeff Kinney, has proven attractive to boys in their tweens. The fourth book in the series, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw,” just came out. This series hasn’t put up Potteresque numbers but they are impressive — 11 million copies of the first three books.
Greg Heffley is the “wimpy kid” of the title. A sixth-grader, these are his journals narrated in a distinctively self-absorbed 12-year-old voice. Kinney structures the books to read like Greg’s musings with funny cartoons, ostensibly drawn by Greg, which adorn each page.
The writing is in a child’s script. As the latest book begins, Greg is complaining that it is New Year’s Day and his one resolution “is to try and help other people improve.” His resolution for his mother: “I think you should work on chewing your potato chips more quietly.”
Greg’s sixth-grade antics and traumas will strike a chord with young readers, especially boys. The format of these “journals” is designed to appeal even to the most reluctant reader. Greg speaks like one of their own, peppering his prose with hundreds of humorous cartoon caricatures of the proceedings.
Greg spends most of his time worrying about how to satisfy his own wants. He wants his older brother Rodrick to stop picking on him. He devises ways to sleep as much as possible. An unfortunate Christmas present puts Greg in an untidy position as his mother stops doing Greg’s laundry.
For the rest of the book, Greg schemes methods to keep recycling his dirty clothes without causing grief. This leads to some classic messes.
Kinney actually intended his first book for an adult audience. He found a publisher. They wanted to market it to tween boys as a target audience. “Wimpy Kid” is no Harry Potter. Even so, Kinney found a winning format of chapter books that is enticing reluctant readers and ruling the best-seller lists.
They are making a movie. The online version has gotten 70 million visits at www.FunBrain.com. Kinney told the Los Angeles Times that “Greg is morally bankrupt. There’s a soul there, but you can’t see it. It’s masked by bravado. Greg does the right thing, but it’s only when it’s the right thing for himself.”
Kinney’s publisher is prepared — “Last Straw” had a first print run of a million copies.
Jeff Kinney will visit the Dayton area on Thursday, February 12 from 4-6 pm at Books & Co at The Greene.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: booms and busts
Comments
By vick
January 26, 2009 5:22 PM | Link to this
Alice, thank you! I’m glad to hear that some girls are into the Wimpy Kid, too.By Alice
January 26, 2009 1:28 PM | Link to this
I have a ten year-old daughter that is a tomboy and LOVES Diary of a Wimpy Kid. A Pokemon and Super Mario fanatic, Diary is one of the few tactics I have to keep her away from a computer/DS/TV screen.