Lemme Let You in On Diary of a Wimpy Kid…

I personally LOVE this series, and I’m twenty years old. It has so many great qualities that make it so appealing to a wide range of people. No, it’s not really a book I would recommend to a peer, because it’s not meant for us, but maybe our (future) students, younger siblings, etc. Obviously, books twenty year olds look for are often stories based on true events or maybe self-help books, not really junior high journals kept by a “wimpy kid”, which is what this book basically is.

Greg Heffley is a middle school aged dweeb, who keeps a diary “journal”–given to him by his mother–about his everyday life. His journal entries are normally composed of events that took place at home or school, peer interactions–both positive and negative (mostly negative), rude things his brother does to him, complaints about his parents and younger brother, as well as his feelings towards his “uncool” best friend. In my opinion, Greg has a pretty large ego and can be pretty rude, which can make this book pretty hilarious, but also make me hate Greg at times.

I could definitely see this book being popular amongst middle schoolers, because most of the characters are in middle school and the book discusses middle school issues, but the vocabulary that is used is not too difficult. I would say that children in the third and forth grades would also enjoy this book a lot, because they would probably like to fantasize about what it’s going to be like when they reach middle school. Will they get stuck sitting next to “dorks”? Will they get to use their older brother’s tricks on other kids? What will it be like to go from class to class, instead of staying in one classroom with one teacher?

One way you could use this book in class is to read through it (maybe out loud) with your kids, and then once you finish, have them write their own “diary”. This would allow them to write creatively, journal, and potentially open a window for some self reflection journaling. Those are just some ideas…