Diary of a wimpy kid

“Diary of a wimpy kid” is an illustrated novel By Jeff Kinney. When he was growing up, he didn’t want to write children’s book, his dream was to be a newspaper cartoon artist and publish his own comic strips independently. In 1998, Jeff Kinney came up with the idea of a book titled “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, a story about a middle school boy named Greg Heffley. Jeff had been working on his book for nearly eight years before publishing it. It was first advertised on a website called funbrain.com. Surprisingly, it had more than 80 million visits, and had around 70,000 kids reading the book. The book attracted many young audiences due to it's cartoonish illustrations. His first book was released on April 2007, and was the New York Times bestseller, it even said so on the bookcover itself! Also during this time, Jeff also created Poptropica.com, where he still continues to express new ideas everyday for the next children book, all of which is sequels of “Diary of a Wimpy kid”, because the fan base is huge and still supports it. Jeff loves his own idea of this book and wants to still make it accessible to many people.

The author connected his own childhood dreams into the book, and then compares it to his own autobiography about his earlier period of his life. Which also explains why there was a comic strip references in his book where Rowley, a character in the book wanted to do school comics, but was rejected by the protagonist saying his idea will be bad. Only later to disprove his assumptions by making him the most popular kid in school. “There was a pretty obvious drop in quality once Rowley started doing the writing. And believe it or not, Rowley’s drawing skills are worse than his writing skills. I told Rowley maybe we should come up with some new ideas, but he just wanted to keep writing “Zoo-Wee Mamas.” Then he packed up his comics and went home, which was fine by me. I don’t really want to be partnered up with a kid who doesn’t draw noses, anyway.” Pg. 170. Stories that reflect everyday reality of a school child pulls in the reader, while reminding him/her the jokes and tricks that are still relevant in his/her life which may have occurred before or after the making of this book.

“Diary of a wimpy kid” isn’t about the regular children’s story where with morals at every turn, it’s about childhood dreams and common mischief. Jeff Kinney and other people they will face ahead in life. Like when he wanted to do when he did grow up, but never could have, and he reference this in the book in a mature manner. He mentions a lot of these problems so purposely and well placed in the book, incidents like vandalism and terrorizing the neighborhood, hurting someone purposely in an accidental way, peer pressuring someone, and then being jealous of something they did you avoided them to accept. We will always be envy of someone or something because of their superior ways, common parts where he is referencing things in the book he may have or you might of experienced in life, then compares it in smaller part in pages, such as how small voices can be spread with ideal fiction about a molded cheese. By comparing the things we have nostalgia or scars,  about or learning how others deal with it makes the interests or curious readers wants to read more because of we don’t know how to understand or how to deal with the same situation Greg is facing. Even in Rowley’s perspective, we might not agree with our peers 100% of the times to make a good argument. Which may lead to frustration.

What really makes this book interesting is not that it refers readers these common things, but its how it turns phobias, peer pressure, and disrespect into something that isn’t necessarily true, into a self story he faced and fear and making it a cheap animated thrill he overlooked in. The book is about an average middle school boy named Greg Heffley, that tells his story in his Diary, where creativity comes to life by his own drawing, which he expresses in a very mannered detailed way, like how he told his mom he wanted a journal and not a diary. He spots out the main things he did or events that happened during his daily life, which typically occurs in common areas which readers will get used to reading from different perspectives. Some places including, school, houses, outside, and holidays. There are recurring character, along with the main protagonist Greg Heffley, and his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, incase you were still wondering about them earlier. There are other important characters besides the main protagonist. His family are what leads to tension, like his older brother, Rodrick Heffley who is a troublemaker. He’s a perfect example of how a immatured teenager who hangs out with his friends most of the time and picks on a younger brother, frankly being Greg and causes conflict. And there is Manny Heffley, the young delinquent who doesn’t know any better and often leads to mistakes to lead others to blame for.

The good and bad things that happens in life, in which is read of a narrative tone that is spoke mostly in a first person view, comic gimmicks to exemplify cheap appropriate stereotypes, like how kids can be creative, make fake rumors and be very immature with other superiors to highlight what problems people faced and how they tend to avoid danger. Most of which are reflections on what certain consequences are and the things you may face or decide that can lead to other shenanigans, (or you can be totally ignorant like me and not realize any of these). Like molded cheese and how you can get the cheese touch, this part of the book deals a lot of drama and causes excellent tension and ending climax on how stories are brought up with embarrassing faintly whispers of ghastly murmurs, which are commonly brought up. That kids don't play on the playground anymore (which they tend to avoid being mistaken for) a common misconception of a molded cheese lying on the school’s basketball court. The only context given to Greg is that if you touch it, you will get the cheese touch and people will start passing it to whoever touches them, which will make others avoid the victim until it passes on to another host, which will lead to others avoiding you for whatever they believe. This is an example of common stereotypes and other misconceptions, like if girls touch boys, they could have the cooties. The author implies in this part that it’s fun remembering the things we used to believe and make something that may have impacted us in our youth about some phobias we were too young to understand, into an inside joke to a world. The book was made to attract more of young readers due to it’s non complex cartoonish style of black and white novel with illustrations, but it’s not weighed down with deep metaphors and brings up things older audiences can appreciate.  I was 10 years old when I first read this book and still remember the whole thing because of it’s non-complexity and joy that was brought up. It’s a fun book to read because it has pictures.