Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Japanese Edition)
Selected Book Details
- Hardcover
- Author: Jeff Kinney
- Publisher: Poplar Publishing
- Release Date: May 2008
- Reading Level: Ages 9-12
- ISBN-10: 4591103366
- ISBN-13: 9784591103364
- List Price: $28.80
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryBoys don’t keep diaries—or do they? The launch of an exciting and innovatively illustrated new series narrated by an unforgettable kid every family can relate to It’s a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you’re ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary. In book one of this debut series, Greg is happy to have Rowley, his sidekick, along for the ride. But when Rowley’s star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend’s newfound popularity to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion. Author/illustrator Jeff Kinney recalls the growing pains of school life and introduces a new kind of hero who epitomizes the challenges of being a kid. As Greg says in his diary, “Just don’t expect me to be all ‘Dear Diary’ this and ‘Dear Diary’ that.” Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won’t do and what he actually does are two very different things. Since its launch in May 2004 on Funbrain.com, the Web version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid has been viewed by 20 million unique online readers. This year, it is averaging 70,000 readers a day. F&P level: T |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
fun for everyone
Rating: 
Eleven-year-old Greg Heffley knows he's going places. unfortunately, to get there he has to pass through middle school--that cruel, no man's land where everyone is mashed together irrespective of maturity. What diabolical mind created this strange limbo where kids who haven't had their growth spurt mingle daily with giants who shave twice a day?
Not to worry, Greg has figured out most of the ins and outs of surviving middle school already. The key lies in walking that fine line between keeping a low profile and earning the school's admiration as one of the Yearbook Favorites. Now if only Greg could get his best friend Rowley on board with his grand plan to put the cool into middle school in Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007) by Jeff Kinney.
To call Greg self-centered would be an understatement. He is one of the most self-absorbed characters I have ever read. And yet, as is the way, Greg does have a certain charm. His daily trials and tribulations are also quite funny.
As a character Greg is one of those anomalies--not quite bad enough to be a villain but not always nice enough to warrant his spot as protagonist. Although they would probably attract two very different audiences, Diary of a Wimpy Kid reminded me a lot of Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. Georgia Nicholson, like Greg, is one of the most self-centered characters I have ever encountered. But, and perhaps this is a credit to the respective authors, it kind of works. I'm waiting for the day I find a cross-over fan fiction where Greg's family moves to England when he is a bit older and he and Georgia meet and start to date. It's a match made in heaven. Can anyone else hear the tinkling sound of wedding bells?
The book is a fast read and, honestly, popular enough with kids and parents that I don't really need to say anything else about it. A blend of cartoons and narrative, this is one of those books that sells itself.
As if this book series wasn't popular enough, there is also a movie version. Diary of a Wimpy Kid came out on March 19 and I was, amazingly, one of the people who saw it on opening day (this never happens). I wasn't over the moon about the book, but it was kind of fun.
I'm over the moon about the movie.
The idea of a novel in cartoons being recreated as a live action movie is worrisome at best, but in this case, it works really really unbelievably well. Director Thor Freudenthal blends the actors and live action of the film almost seamlessly with integrated snippets of Kinney's original art brought to life in animated form.
The actors themselves were also fabulous. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the cast consists of children. Talented actor children who I fully expect to be going places when they get older. Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron really brought Greg and Rowley to life.
The movie also added a different spin to a lot of events in the book--it removed some of the hard edges (and hard knocks) from Greg's story in a way that ultimately made the story tighter. The actors also made a lot of characters that fell flat on the page more dimensional and approachable for me. Steve Zahn was a kinder, gentler father than the one we see in the book. Similarly Devon Bostick was kind of brilliant as Greg's villainous older brother Rodrick. His exploits and tricks are so much funnier (and more diabolical) in the movie than they were in the book.
Call me crazy, but this might be the movie that turns out to be better than the book.
Possible Pairings: Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko, Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle & Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrich, Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
A very quick, easy, and fun read
Rating:
After reading a plethora of depressing "highbrow" books about characters who all seem to hate life, don't see the point in anything, and interpret everything around them in an apathetic and cynical way, I decided that my head needed a break from all the gloominess. I took a trip to Barnes & Noble feeling determined to buy something lighthearted, something I would have likely checked out of the library back in elementary school and middle school. With the movie for this book coming out, I didn't even have to walk into the "Young Readers" section to find it. This thing was stacked in piles on tables spread out through the store.
As I skimmed, I could tell by the big font and all the drawings inside that this was going to be a very quick read with potential to make me laugh, which was just what I needed. So I bought it, and in just three hours I was done with it (and I would've probably gotten done quicker if I hadn't gotten interrupted by a phone call).
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" tell the experiences of Greg Heffley during his first year in middle school. As the title states, the book is formatted as a diary, but it is also filled with a ton of amusing drawings that illustrate the situations Greg describes.
Greg is an average boy who likes to play video games and doesn't like sports. His best friend Rowley is a dork, his older brother Rodrick is a jerk, and his younger brother Manny is spoiled and the apparently favorite child of his parents. Although Greg is not a complete geek, he doesn't have much luck in the popularity department at school. He sucks at wrestling because he's so light, he ruins the school play, and basically fails at ever getting what he wants out of a situation.
Another reviewer mentioned that Greg behaves like a bully, but I disagree. There are definitely a lot of parts in the book where Greg is either playing a joke on someone or having fun at someone else's expense, but he is not truly a mean-spirited kid. He's just a young kid (I'm assuming he's around 11) who fools around just like a lot of boys. Yes, he made his little brother think he was going to make him eat a spider, yes he scared some kindergartners with worms, yes he wanted to roll a big snowball on a group of boys he didn't like, and yes the only highlight of being a tree in the school play for him was getting to throw apples on an annoying overachiever. This an immature fooling around, not a truly cruel one bullying others. I don't make excuses for bullying at all (I was picked on for my looks in middle school a lot), but the behavior Greg displays is something a normal kid would be able to differentiate from bullying. Also, Greg does not pick on the "little guys" the way bullies do. Sure, nerds like Fregley get on his nerves, but he doesn't go around calling him names or humiliating him.
In the end of the story, Greg does seem to learn a lesson about treating his friend with more respect, so he does grow up a little bit. This is a very fun read, and something I'd recommend to someone who has a long bus ride or plane flight. If you're also like me and need to take a break from "serious literature," this is a good option.
Finally found something he loves!
Rating:
My 9 year old son is very smart but does not enjoy reading at all. I caught him reading this book at 11 pm last night, and he was already half done with it! He said we need to get the other books in the series. I'm so glad he found something he loves reading!
Diary of a Wimpy kid
Rating:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Deris Tillis
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney is about a boy named Greg Heffley who faces the fears of middle school. Greg gets a journal from his mom to write his feelings in. But, Greg specifically told her not to get one that said diary on it, because if anyone sees him walking around with it they will beat him up for being "Girly" So he explains "Don't expect me to be all Dear Diary this and Dear Diary that." The only reason he agreed to it because "When I get older and famous I won't have time to answer lots of questions, so this book will come in handy."
This book is a good book to read at home or with friends, but this book is not a book that has learning values or school materials, it's a comedy book for tweens, not literature. Throughout the book Greg outwits some people and makes bad decisions against others. Like on Halloween Greg and Rowley encounter teenagers that cause them to run and dodge them all over the town.
For Christmas he doesn't get much for Christmas while Manny basically gets everything out of the Christmas catalog. Greg being wimpy is hard but funny. Overall, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is recommended for ages 10-13. Around those ages this character becomes relatable and funnier.
Greg isn't a big fan of middle school. "Let me just say for the record that I think middle school is the dumbest idea ever invented. You got kids like me who haven't hit their growth spurt yet mixed in with gorillas who need to shave twice a day." Middle school is awful to him because he always gets bullied by bigger "Gorillas", he is stuck with a bunch of morons, and Greg's mother Susan Heffley who just has a skill of embarrassing him. She always knows how to make things from bad to worse.
But Susan used to be a kindergarten teacher, so some of her methods are not exactly helpful.
As Greg tries to outwit most of his friend and family, he usually doesn't think things through and ends up not as he planned. He is relatable because he does everything that a boy does at the age, like play video games, watch TV and is lazy.
Greg also has a friend Rowley who is less popular than Greg. But, Rowley is clueless when is comes to common sense. Greg loves when his older brother does tricks to him. Because then he can use them against Rowley. Throughout the book Rowley's popularity rises with the girls for his sensitivity. So Greg feeds off of it to gain some popularity points as well.
If you read and enjoy this book I recommend the other books in this series by Jeff Kinney. I highly recommend this book because Greg is a funny guy to watch and "Learn" from. The writing is cool because it shows that he is a kid and not a writer. He makes it more believable. As Greg deals with his family, friends, girl and bullies he must learn that life is not as easy as it looks.
My son loves it!
Rating:
I bought this book for my 2nd grade son. We take turns reading this book and he thinks it's pretty great...can't go wrong with that! :)
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