Do you know Jeff Kinney, author/cartoonist extraordinaire? If you have children in the 9 to 12 age set, perhaps you’ve seen his Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, with five “novels in cartoons” released so far, in the hands of your own child. The Wimpy Kid books have become a phenomenon among young readers all on their own, which I can personally attest to as the mother of a ten year old boy. When the first book jumped from the page to the screen with the 2010 release of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, fans of the book watched Greg Heffley transform from a simple line drawing into the flesh, as portrayed by Zachary Gordon, and the complete tone of the first book brought to life before their very eyes.
Well, Greg is back in the theaters with the March 25th release of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, and I know it’s getting a lot of talk in my own house! After reading the first two books myself, as well as catching the first movie on DVD with my son, I have to admit that I’m interested in catching this sequel, too.
I was recently honored to represent 5 Minutes for Mom in a chat with eight other bloggers and Jeff Kinney himself. Many of us professed our new-found stardom in our children’s eyes as a result of simply being on the call, and Jeff was quite gracious and open to answering all sorts of questions that we posed about the development of the books, his opinion of the movies, and his future projects.
Although I feared potentially offending him, I couldn’t help but ask Jeff a question that addressed some parents’ concerns that the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books portray a character who is… less than a great role model, let’s say. Thankfully, he didn’t boot me off the call, and his response struck me as quite thoughtful:
“I’ve tried to create this character that is funny because he’s imperfect. And I know that might sound like a copout. But for somebody to say that Greg is a bad kid or a rude kid, I don’t quite agree with that. I would say that he’s flawed. He’s a kid whose life is being documented at a time that nobody would want their life documented.
I’ve come to find that kids have a certain sophistication in the way that they read these books. They don’t see Greg as a role model, but they might share his point of view from time to time. Mark Twain, for example, wrote about these characters, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer who were not model citizens. But he trusted his readers to figure it out for themselves.”
I was also surprised to find out that not only does Jeff Kinney still hold down a regular old 9 to 5 job in addition to writing and illustrated this beloved series, he’s also the brains behind one of my son’s very favorite websites, Poptropica! And if you’re located in the Washington, DC, metro area (like me!), you’ll be happy to know that he will be appearing at the annual big event of his alma mater, the University of Maryland’s Maryland Day in late April. (We’ll be in line for his book signing, for sure.) And don’t worry– he’s hard at work right now on another Wimpy Kid book for the series!
As far as the movies go, Jeff is pleased with the portrayals, acknowledging that the approach to making the films differs from the writing process. He’s been involved with the movie production developing scripts, helping with casting decisions and being on set at times, building relationships with the actors and even contributing “gags” as the movies were being filmed. I especially enjoyed this comment he made: “I feel great that we’re making live action movies, with real kids who are actually in middle school. It’s quite different than the rest of the field, which is mostly 3D and computer generated. I think there is something almost retro about these movies.”
If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out the official movie trailer for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, or even “like” the movie on Facebook.
The 5 Minutes for Books team is happy to be offering a “bookish” giveaway today in conjunction with the upcoming movie release.
One lucky winner will receive four Diary of a Wimpy Kid games and toys (total prize pack valued at $79.00):
- the Zoo-Wee Mama Card Game
- The Cheese Touch Board Game
- a Wimpy Kid Action Figure
- a 200-piece puzzle
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid UNO
To enter, please leave a comment, U.S. mailing addresses only. The winner will be announced in this column on April 4.
Giveaway courtesy of 20th Century Fox.
The winner of our previous giveaway is A Double Life: Discovering Motherhood is #13 melissa n.
5 Minutes for Books reviewer Dawn and her son are currently bonding over a certain Wimpy Kid. Their own wimpy stories are told at her blog, my thoughts exactly.
My daughter loves these books!
My boys LOVE these books and loved the first movie! Thanks for the great giveaway!
My stepsons love the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series and are very excited about seeing Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rule. I would be the best stepmom ever if I won this great prize pack.
My son would love this prize…thanks for the opportunity!
Congratulations, Mia! You’re our lucky winner for this prize pack. Please email me your mailing info at morninglightmama (at) gmail (dot) com. Congrats!
Thank you SO MUCH Dawn!!!
What a pleasant surprise & WONDERFUL way to end the weekend!!!
= )
Great giveaway! My kids love those books.
My daughter love Wimpy Kids!
My son has been talking about this for the last few weeks. I’d love to win it for him!
My daughter and my grandson…both the same age (lol) are way into these books and would love to share this cool gift! thanks!
My daughter would so love this
My niece and nephew would LOVE this!!
My daughter loves all of the books and the first movie.
My son would absolutely love this!
misusedinnocence@aol.com
We aren’t quite here yet (my boys are 6) but these movies and books like they will definitely be on our list when we do! Thanks, Maureen (jnomaxx at hotmail dot com)
Great gift, I would love to win this for my grandkids.
This would be a great thing to win. My children would love it!
I have two boys who are HUGE fans of the book series and Jeff Kinney! We are taking my son & his best friends to see the movie for his Wimpy Kid party next week but, I am equally excited. This giveaway is awesome!!!
I have a grandson that I would love to share this with. He lives with me so I’m especially blessed!
my kids would love this! thanks for all the info on jeff kinney!
looks like a fun kit!
I’d like to win this for my son. Thanks!
This would be great to win!
This would be a great thing to win. Thanks!
My son just loves this series!
Can’t wait to see the new movie!
coriwestphal at msn dot com
Sounds great. Count me in please.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
My grandchildren would be crazy about getting this,,,
vlbelk(at)hotmail.com
My boys love the movie..
This will be a great movie for kids. The books are wonderful too.
Great book series. My son loves them!
Those look like some fun games!
Please enter me to win. Thanks.
Neat giveaway and fun for all, thanks!
All three of my boys love Diary of a Wimpy Kid….they would love this!!
My son and nephews love this series; this would make a great gift for them. Thanks for the chance. And both my daughter and my son love Poptropica. iclipalso AT yahoo DOT com
My 9 year old daughter loved these books and is excited to see the upcoming movie. I will have to tell her that a new book is in the works and that Jeff is one of the people behind Poptropica. She and I have lots of fun figuring out the different lands in Poptropica. I am sure she would be ecstatic if we won this prize.
My son loves these books!
I would love to win this!
My daughter and I just finished reading this series and we are both big fans! She even just made a card to send to Jeff Kinney because she liked the books so much. She will be so thrilled to know that there is another book coming out!
This is a great giveaway!
Oh! Heaven for my 9 year old!
My kids love these books – it really got my son into reading! Thanks for the chance!
My son absolutely LOVES Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It is actually this series that got him to read without complaint. Of course, he loved the first movie and is anxiously awaiting the second!
I work at a public school and the students love this book. I can’t wait to see the movie with my grandkids. Would be nice to win tickets. Thanks Ladies!
This looks like a fun stuff 😉
My son is a huge Diary of A Wimpy Kid fan!!!
This looks so fun!
My 11 year old and 7 year old have read all the books and we saw the movie as well. They cannot wait to see the next movie also. We even have the movie poster from the theater on my son’s bedroom wall. This would be a great prize to win for them – that you for this opportunity.
I would love to win this for my nephew!
My kids LOVE these books! What a great package! 🙂
My son absolutely loves Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Right now he is listening to one of the books via the playback that he got from the library as he follows along with the book. He would be ecstatic if I won this prize for him. lol. ; )
This would make a great gift for my dd. We just watched the first movie and loved it!
lis.miller@yahoo.com
My sons watched the first movie and can’t wait to see the second one. Thanks.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
My kids love this series…I think it’s the 1 book my oldest son actually read!
We loved reading the books and can’t wait to see the newest movie! I’m sure my son’s going to love it. Thanks for the chance to enter!
Well, I’ve learned all about the cheese touch from my son, 12 and daughter, 8. We already have one book signed by Jeff Kinney and the whole family have become fans of the series. My daughter has started her own journals, I think inspired by these books.
I’ve only read bits of the books, at my niece’s house, but thought they were great.
I’ve seen the first movie, but never read the books, and I’m glad you asked him that question about the main character being less than a role model. Honestly I was quite taken aback by how much of a schemer the kid is. The scenes where he pushes those younger kids into a hole and then lets his best friend take the blame for it almost made me think I was watching “A Clockwork Orange: The Early Years” or something. The author’s answer is quite thoughtful, however, so I’m sure the books are better.
My kids would love this!! Thanks so much
My son is a HUGE diary of a wimpy kid fan! Thanks for the chance to win this great prize pack!
My boys love the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series. I hadn’t the slightest idea that the guy who wrote them had a site for children as well. Definitely will be checking it out with my kids. Thanks for the opportunity.
My nephews LOVE these books and loved the movie even more. I watched the trailer and thought it was adorable. Would love to win this for them. 🙂
My kids love these books.
My niece and nephew would love this!
My kids love these books and are excited for another movie!!!
My kids would love to win these!
My boys love these books!
My 8 year old daughter LOVES this series. I made a deal with her, she had to finish the 2nd book before we go see the new movie.. she finished it in 3 days. She has read all the books (in reverse) and now I can’t get her of poptropica! Just this weekend, she and her cousin were working on one of the puzzle games. I could hear them yelling inside the house when I stepped out for a breath of fresh air. Thanks for a the chance!
My kids would love this! Thanks.
What a cool idea! Since UNO is my daughter’s all-time favorite game, and she LOVES this series, this would be great for her!
My son just started reading these a few weeks ago and is totally engrossed in the third book. This would be a wonderful surprise for him!
This is my daughter’s ultimate favorite series!!