David Browning Blog 3

When you first crack open a book from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series your initial thought is, this stuff is first or second grade fare; however, nothing could be further from the truth.  Don’t let the stick figure animations fool you these books are great for slightly older readers including middle schoolers, teenagers and even adults. Author Jeff Kinney has managed to perfectly capture the mindset, spirit, and culture of the 21st century American preteen.  Our hero, Greg Heffley, traverses the difficulties facing the typical American boy with a certain egocentric optimism that I find both endearing and encouraging. There’s something uplifting about Greg’s “can do no wrong” attitude.

I don’t know if I’d craft a unit around the Kinney series, but I’d certainly have his books available for my students and unhesitatingly recommend his work to them. That being said, this series probably isn’t appropriate for very young readers, like first and second graders, the subject matter is fairly advanced.