Published in 2007. 271 pages.
I read this one at the recommendation of my nine-year-old son. A reluctant reader, particularly of fiction, he was so excited about this series - which he heard about from some school friends - that he asked his grandmother for both Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the sequel Rodrick Rules for Christmas. (A third book The Last Straw has just been published.) I got him the Do-It-Yourself Book as a Christmas gift too. He says that this series is "awesome!"
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is "a novel in cartoons" - not really a graphic novel, but designed to look like a journal of lined paper with drawings in it. I enjoyed it, even if I found much of the humor to be more appreciated by a nine-year-old boy than by his mom. I do like the mom in the book; we see her through the eyes of Greg (the "wimpy kid" of the title) but it's evident that she's a feminist and good at imposing consequences for bad behavior. Most of all, I love that my son has a book that he loves!
2009.4
Me at Yallfest!
1 month ago
I loved this book for it's middle school type humor. I taught middle school for several years and some of Greg's thinking is exactly how some kids really do think at that age. I wouldn't say he is the best role model though.
ReplyDeleteOur sons sound a lot alike! My eight-year-old will read non-fiction, especially science-y stuff, but getting him to read fiction is a battle. But these books, HE LOVES! We just bought him The Last Straw when it came out, and he stayed up one night reading the whole book in one sitting. Believe me, that's really saying something for him!
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