Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of fiction books written by the American author and cartoonist
Jeff Kinney. All nine books are the journals of the main character, Greg Heffley. Befitting
a child's diary, the books are filled with hand-written notes and simple drawings of
Greg's daily adventures. Since the release of the online version in
2004, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim, and commercial success worldwide.
For example, Diary of a Wimpy Kid was well-received from the Princeton Review, Gold Card Association,
The Dallas News, The TRR Editors, The NW Press, and The JJ Printing Company. As of February
2008, it has been purchased one million times. The books are being made into a film series
by 20th Century Fox, with three films released in theaters as of 2012.
Poptropica has released two video games in the theme of Diary of a Wimpy Kid called Wimpy
Wonderland and Wimpy Boardwalk, both of which credit Kinney in an ambiguous contributor's
role.
Background Diary of a Wimpy Kid began in 1998 when Kinney
brought up an idea about a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley who wrote about his personal
life. In 2004, FunBrain and Kinney released an online version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
The website made daily entries until June 2005. The book became an instant hit and the
online version received about 20 million views as of 2009; many online readers requested
a printed version. Kinney had agreed and in 2007, Diary of a Wimpy Kid was published.
To date, eight Wimpy Kid books have been released, plus two do-it-yourself books and three movie
diaries. In 2009, Kinney was named one of Time magazine's 100 "Most Influential People"
in the world. Chronology
Supplementary books Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book is
an activity book that features a blank section encouraging readers to keep their own journal
in the style of the books. The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book: Extended
Edition is the same book as the first Do-It-Yourself Book, but with extra 60 pages and 16 more
full-color comics. The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary is an informative
book that features stills from the film of the same name, brand-new illustrations, and
informs readers on how the movie was made. Jeff Kinney dedicated the book to Zachary
Gordon and Robert Capron, the stars of the movie.
The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary 2: Rodrick Rules is the same informative book which has the
features from the first film, but it also features stills from the second film, Rodrick
Rules, more new illustrations, and informs readers how the second movie was made.
The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary 3: Dog Days is the same book that covers how the first film and
second film were made, but also stills from the third film, Dog Days and how they made
it. Toys and games
Action figures include: a mini figure pack, a 6-inch Greg Heffley figure, a 6-inch holiday
figure based on Cabin Fever, and a Greg and Rodrick plush doll.
Audiobooks Eight audiobooks have been released for the
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. They are read by Ramon de Ocampo, presented by Recorded
Books and distributed by Audible.com. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
Characters Greg Heffley is a wimpy middle schooler in
the 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade. His best friend is Rowley Jefferson.
Rowley Jefferson is the childish best friend of Greg. In Hard Luck, he gets a girlfriend
named Abigail Brown. Rodrick Heffley is the older brother of Greg.
He is very rude. He is the drummer in Löded Diper.
Manny Heffley is Greg & Rodrick's younger brother. He is known to be a tattletale.
Susan Heffley is Greg's mom. Frank Heffley is Greg's dad.
Fregley is Greg's weird neighbor and classmate. Chirag Gupta is Greg's friend.
Holly Hills is Greg's crush, she thought he was Fregley.
Achievements Awards and honors
Commercial success Diary of a Wimpy Kid was well-received from
the Princeton Review, Gold Card Association, The Dallas News, The TRR Editors, The NW Press,
and The JJ Printing Company. The New York Times, which ranks children's serials collectively
on a "Series Books" bestseller list, has included the Wimpy Kid series for 64 weeks as of April
10, 2010. USA Today, which ranks best sellers based on sales alone regardless of genre or
intended audience, has listed Diary of a Wimpy Kid in its top 150, peaking at number 8, for
141 weeks as of April 4, 2010. As of the same date, Rodrick Rules has been on the list for
117 weeks, The Last Straw has been on the list for 65 weeks, Dog Days has been on the
list for all 25 weeks of its publication, and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary has been listed
for all three weeks of its publication, peaking at number 2. As of May 2010, more than 32 million
Wimpy Kid books are in print in the U.S., and the books have been sold in more than
30 countries. The series has sold over 75 million books in 40 countries.
Films
Jeff Kinney announced that a film based on the first book would be produced by 20th Century
Fox. The film was released on March 19, 2010, moved up from an April 2 release date. It
was directed by Thor Freudenthal, who also directed Hotel for Dogs. The film starred
Zachary Gordon as Greg, Robert Capron as Rowley, Steve Zahn as Frank, Rachael Harris as Susan,
Devon Bostick as Rodrick, Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny, Chloë Grace Moretz as
a new character named Angie, and Grayson Russell as Fregley.
There is a second film in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series that was released on March
25, 2011, which was based on the second book, Rodrick Rules, with Zachary Gordon returning
as Greg Heffley. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was also filmed in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules also contains some scenes from The Last Straw.
The third film combines the third and fourth books, The Last Straw and Dog Days, taking
stories from both, but mainly from Dog Days, from which it took its title. The decision
to blend the two films was made to keep up with the ages of the actors. The film was
released on August 3, 2012. The likelihood of a fourth live action film
is slim. Kinney has announced the possibility for an animated film to be based on Diary
of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever as the next installment. In an interview for the latest book Hard Luck,
Jeff Kinney stated he is working with Fox on a half-hour special of Cabin Fever, which
is to be aired in late 2014. References
External links Official website
Online book on FunBrain Official blog
Official movie site