Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal

Kinney, J. (2007). Diary of a wimpy kid: greg heffley’s journal. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

                                          New York Times Bestseller for Children’s List

If the plot does not fit the traditional plot line, what plot line does the book illustrate?  Write a 5-6 sentence description of the book:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal, one of the most frequently checked out books in my elementary library, does not follow a traditional plot line as it is the main character Greg’s recording of his experiences in middle school.  However, though it does not follow a traditional plot line, Greg does still experience conflict – he is mainly attempting just to survive middle school, and in his efforts to survive, he and his best friend embark on a mission to become popular.  Greg and Rowley try many ridiculous tactics to become popular, from running for treasurer of the student government, to being on the safety patrol, to being the cartoonist for the school paper, to being voted one of the class favorites.  Throughout every attempt, Rowley generally gets all of the attention and/or praise, and toward the end of the book, Greg almost loses his friendship.  But in the end, Rowley and Greg are terrorized by some older kids who make Rowley eat the old cheese that has been on the basketball court for a long time, and Greg helps Rowley by telling people he just got tired of it being there and threw the cheese away.  Greg and Rowley become friends again, but Greg thinks to himself at the end that if Rowley ever gets too big for his britches again, he will remind him that he was the guy who ate the cheese. 

Chapter books only (List two strong literary qualities displayed in the book and write one sentence about each quality): Jeff Kinney first uses the literary quality of point-of-view by writing in first person from Greg Heffley’s perspective; the reader is easily able to get to know Greg because this book is a compilation of his thoughts and musings.  Kinney also uses illustrations throughout the book as Greg likes to draw comical cartoons of whatever he is writing about in each entry; not only does this show the reader a picture of what Greg is writing about, but it also gives the reader insight into Greg’s personality and sense of humor, and it provides evidence of his artistic talent.

Picture books only (Was this a well-illustrated book? Describe how it was or was not well-illustrated in 3 sentences.):  Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal is both a chapter and a picture book as the reader learns about Greg’s daily experiences through both words and his illustrations.  Kinney skillfully draws his illustrations in a funny, cartoon-style manner which is very appropriate since Greg is supposed to be the one drawing them, and he likes to draw cartoons and even becomes the cartoonist for the school paper.  The cartoon-style drawings definitely fit Greg’s personality and the comedic tone of the book.