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The Blog About Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The Blog About Diary of a Wimpy Kid

For my series book, I read Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.  Both of these books were so funny! I honestly thought they were going to be so gross.  I never read these books or saw the movie, but my younger sister worshiped these books while she was in elementary school.  The only thing I knew about the books was that the older brother in the book had a band called “Löaded Diaper”.  Back in elementary school, she thought that was the funniest thing ever.  

The main character is a boy named Greg, who reassures his audience that he writing in a journal and not in diary.  The diary was a gift from his mom who insisted that he write to pass time and express his feelings.  My favorite moment with Greg between two the books, when his mother notices he’s upset at dinner one night and comes to his room check on him after the meal.  His mother, doesn’t badger him (a gesture Greg appreciates), but tells Greg that whatever he is going through, he should do the right thing.  To Greg, doing the right meant allowing his best friend, Rowley, take the blame for something he did.  The next day, Greg’s mom followed up by asking if he had done the right thing;  Greg was excited to tell her that he had done the right thing and is even more excited when she treats him to ice cream.  Eventually, it all backfires on Greg and it was hilarious.  

I loved how honest and genuine Greg’s emotions were throughout this event and throughout series.  The honesty of how he appreciated his mom not badgering him is a feeling that can be appreciated in middle school as well as in college.  It was also funny to see that Greg really did feel as though that letting Rowley take the fall for him, was the right thing to do.  Author Jeff Kinney did a fabulous job tapping into a child’s innocence and brutal honesty.  Kinney was also honest about the horror of middle school.  Middle school is a hard time in adolescents and Greg is honest in expressing that he does whatever is takes to avoid being picked on.  

Something that I disliked, liked and appreciated all at once was any interaction Greg has with his siblings.  What I disliked but appreciated was the relationship between Greg and his older brother Rodrick.  Being a big sister myself, I hated that Rodrick was an awful, horrible, mean older brother who took advantage of Greg.  I can only hope that when my sister read this, she didn’t feel that I was a mean older sibling.  At the same time, it was what I appreciated it.  Being the eldest sibling, I cannot imagine having an older sibling.  However, reading this series, I feel as though Kinney has given me some insight to what it might be like to have an older sibling through Greg.  I adored the younger brother, Manny!  I thought the illustration of Manny was just adorable.  When Greg wrote about his interactions, I was able to relate to being the older sibling feeling that the younger could get away with more or that the younger sibling would always be the tattle tale.  
This series seems to be written for students between a fourth grade and fifth grade reading level.  Diary of a Wimpy Kid is definitely a series that can be used in a classroom because everyone can relate to it.   Students of the fourth and fifth grade also are anxious about the transition to middle school.  Greg would be an excellent character to introduce students to middle school.  Hopefully Greg could ease the nerves of students who aren’t exactly excited about transitioning to middle school.

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One Reply to “The Blog About Diary of a Wimpy Kid”

  1. Hey, sorry about the late comment! I don’t get a lot of time to submit things other than this on Fridays. I loved the book when I read it in middle school because I could relate to Greg on a grumpy middle-schooler level. I’d say that I definitely enjoyed it more as a middle-schooler than I do now as an adult, but the jokes are all sill funny, and it is fun to revisit old memories as I leaf through the pages. I’m glad that you’re getting a kick out of the book as well! It sounds like your sister and my brother had similar elementary school experiences, as they both read this book! I wonder how it shaped their views of middle school?

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