Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Jeff Kinney
Question: Given all the jobs that you have--game designer, fatherhood,
Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie work, etc.,--do you have a certain time that you set aside to write?
Kinney: I still treat writing like a hobby, working mostly at
night and sometimes on weekends. But when a deadline looms my hobby time
gets extended into the wee hours of the night. It's not uncommon for me
to work until 4:00 a.m., and I'm usually back at work by 9:00 a.m.
Q: Did you get to choose which character you would play in the
Wimpy Kid films (Mr. Hills)? What do you enjoy most about working on
the movies?
Kinney: I never any real desire to appear in the Wimpy Kid
films, but one day my wife encouraged me to be an extra in one of the
crowd scenes. So I walked onto the set, ready to ask the assistant
director to put me somewhere in the back. It happened that right at that
moment the director was looking for someone to play the role of Mr.
Hills, Holly Hills's father. What I didn't realize was that I'd be front
and center in the church scene, and in the new movie, I'm even more
prominent. I'm incredibly self-conscious so appearing on-camera was a
real stretch for me.
Q: In 2009
Time magazine named you as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World--what’s the first thing you did after you found out?
Kinney: I thought it was a practical joke, so I tried to track
down the source of the joke. I eventually reached a voicemail of a
reporter who said they worked for
Time, and at that point I
thought it was just a well-planned practical joke. It took me a while to
realize it was for real. It was a big honor, but I don't take it very
seriously. I'm the fourth most influential person in my own house.
Q: Would you ever consider making Wimpy Kid into a newspaper
comic strip or creating another one? Do you have any favorite comic
strips that you currently read?
Kinney: I've considered it. I set out to become a newspaper
cartoonist but failed to break in. But I like the freedom books give me,
so it would be tough to cram my ideas into three or four panels.
Q: What is (or could be) you motto in life?
Kinney: I was inspired to write by a Benjamin Franklin quote:
"Well done is better than well said." But I always encourage kids to
"create something great," because the tools to create something original
and find an audience are available to them like never before.
Q: What was your favorite year in school, and why?
Kinney: Fifth grade was my favorite year. I had a great
teacher, Mrs. Norton, who encouraged me to be funny and challenged me to
be a better artist and joke-teller than I was. I liked it that she
didn't coddle me.
Q: Kids now ask for a book that is “like
Diary of a Wimpy Kid,”
and with this series you’ve created a whole new subset of books for
young readers--how does it feel to be the person behind such massive
book enjoyment, reaching reluctant readers, and spawning any number of
titles that aspire to be “the next
Wimpy Kid?”
Kinney: I'm happy that kids are reading. I think graphical books reach kids who might otherwise see books as work. Books should be fun!
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Kinney's popular Web comic, which began in 2004,
makes its way to print as a laugh-out-loud "novel in cartoons," adapted
from the series. Middle school student Greg Heffley takes readers
through an academic year's worth of drama. Greg's mother forces him to
keep a diary ("I know what it says on the cover, but when Mom went out
to buy this thing I
specifically told her to get one that didn't
say 'diary' on it"), and in it he loosely recounts each day's events,
interspersed with his comic illustrations. Kinney has a gift for
believable preteen dialogue and narration (e.g., "Don't expect me to be
all 'Dear Diary' this and 'Dear Diary' that"), and the illustrations
serve as a hilarious counterpoint to Greg's often deadpan voice. The
hero's utter obliviousness to his friends and family becomes a running
joke. For instance, on Halloween, Greg and his best friend, Rowley, take
refuge from some high school boys at Greg's grandmother's house; they
taunt the bullies, who then T.P. her house. Greg's journal entry reads,
"I do feel a little bad, because it looked like it was gonna take a long
time to clean up. But on the bright side, Gramma is retired, so she
probably didn't have anything planned for today anyway." Kinney ably
skewers familiar aspects of junior high life, from dealing with the
mysteries of what makes someone popular to the trauma of a "wrestling
unit" in gym class. His print debut should keep readers in stitches,
eagerly anticipating Greg's further adventures. Ages 8-13.
(Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5–8—Greg Heffley has actually been on the scene for more
than two years. Created by an online game developer, he has starred in a
Web book of the same name on www.funbrain.com since May 2004. This
print version is just as engaging. Kinney does a masterful job of making
the mundane life of boys on the brink of adolescence hilarious. Greg is
a conflicted soul: he wants to do the right thing, but the constant
quest for status and girls seems to undermine his every effort. His
attempts to prove his worthiness in the popularity race (he estimates
he's currently ranked 52nd or 53rd) are constantly foiled by
well-meaning parents, a younger and older brother, and nerdy friends.
While Greg is not the most principled protagonist, it is his very
obliviousness to his faults that makes him such an appealing hero.
Kinney's background as a cartoonist is apparent in this hybrid book that
falls somewhere between traditional prose and graphic novel. It offers
some of the same adventures as the Web book, but there are enough new
subplots to entertain Funbrain followers. This version is more pared
down, and the pace moves quickly. The first of three installments, it is
an excellent choice for reluctant readers, but more experienced readers
will also find much to enjoy and relate to in one seventh grader's view
of the everyday trials and tribulations of middle school.—
Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The first year in the middle-school life of Greg Heffley is
chronicled in this laugh-out-loud novel that first appeared on the
Internet. Greg tells his story in a series of short, episodic chapters.
Most revolve around the adolescent male curse: the need to do incredibly
dumb things because they seem to be a good idea at the time. Yet,
unlike some other books about kids of this age, there's no sense of a
slightly condescending adult writer behind the main character. At every
moment, Greg seems real, and the engrossed reader will even occasionally
see the logic in some of his choices. Greatly adding to the humor are
Kinney's cartoons, which appear on every page. The simple line drawings
perfectly capture archetypes of growing up, such as a preschool-age
little brother, out-of-touch teachers, and an assortment of class nerds.
Lots of fun throughout.
Todd MorningCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
The world has gone crazy for Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid
series Sun Kinney is right up there with JK Rowling as one of the
bestselling children's authors on the planet Independent Hilarious!
Sunday Telegraph The most hotly anticipated children's book of the year
is here - Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Big Issue
About the Author
As well as being an international bestselling author, Jeff Kinney
is also an online developer and designer. He is the creator of the
children's virtual world, poptropica. He was names one of Time
Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2009. He lives with his family
in Massachusetts, USA. wimpykidclub.co.uk
The main character wants to make one thing clear: this is NOT a
diary--it's a journal. And it's his mother's idea for him to chronicle
his life as a tortured sixth-grader, not his. One day Greg will be
famous, but "for now I'm stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons."
In a voice that brings to mind Holden Caulfield and David Sedaris
rolled into one, Greg discusses the fleeting nature of popularity, the
logic of bullying, and the fickleness of the fairer sex. Narrator Ramon
de Ocampo is completely tuned in to Greg's angst-filled point of view.
Though Greg is not always what you'd call a sympathetic character, de
Ocampo's well-dramatized, insightful presentations of his various
plights evoke our empathy--and laughter. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2008,
Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
