Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series)

This article is about the novel series. For the film series, see Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film series). For the first book of the series, see Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The logo of the series, appearing on the book covers, blogs, web comic, and the films.
Author Jeff Kinney
Country United States
Language English
Genre Realistic fiction
Publisher Scholastic Publishing / Amulet Books / Puffin Books
Published April 1, 2007 – present
Media type Print (hardback & paperback)
Audiobook
E-book

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of fiction books written by the American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney.[1] All the main books are the journals of the main character, Greg Heffley. Befitting a child's diary, the books are filled with hand-written notes and simple drawings of Greg's daily adventures.[2]

Since the release of the online version in May 2004, most of the books have garnered positive reviews and commercial success. For example, Diary of a Wimpy Kid was well-received from The Princeton Review, Gold Card Association, The Dallas News, The TRR Editors, The NW Press, and The JJ Printing Company. As of February 2008, it has been purchased one million times.

The first, second, and fourth installments have been adapted into films by 20th Century Fox.[3]

The website Poptropica released islands in the theme of Diary of a Wimpy Kid called Wimpy Wonderland and Wimpy Boardwalk, both of which credit Kinney in an ambiguous contributor's role.

Background

In January 1998, Diary of a Wimpy Kid officially began, when Kinney brought up an idea about a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley, who wrote about his personal life. In May 2004, FunBrain and Kinney released an online version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The website made daily entries until June 2005.[4] He worked on his book for almost eight years, before showing it to a publisher in New York.

In February 2006, during the New York Comic Con, Jeff signed a multi book deal with publisher Harry N. Abrams, Inc., to turn Diary of a Wimpy Kid into a print series.[5]

The book became an instant hit, and the online version received about 20 million views as of 2009; many online readers requested a printed version. Kinney had agreed, and in April 2007, Diary of a Wimpy Kid was published.[4] To date, eleven Wimpy Kid books have been released, plus two do-it-yourself books and three movie diaries. In April 2009, TIME named Kinney one of The World's Most Influential People.[6]

Chronology

# Title Date ISBN
1Diary of a Wimpy KidApril 1, 2007ISBN 978-0-8109-9313-6
The introduction to the series introduces the protagonist, Greg Heffley, his best friend Rowley, his middle school problems, Halloween, and the Cheese Touch. 
2Rodrick RulesFebruary 1, 2008ISBN 978-0-8109-9473-7
The second book in the series is about Greg's relationship with his older brother Rodrick, the Mom Bucks program, the high school party, and the talent show and the troubles faced by Greg because of Rodrick. 
3The Last StrawJanuary 13, 2009ISBN 978-0-8109-7068-7
The third book in the series is about the conflict between Greg and his crush, Holly Hills, the soccer team, Spag Union Military Academy, boy scouts, and Seth Snella's half-birthday party. 
4Dog DaysOctober 12, 2009ISBN 978-0-8109-8391-5
The fourth book in the series is about Greg's summer vacation, his mother and how she expects Greg to spend a sporty summer, and their new dog, Sweetie. 
5The Ugly TruthNovember 9, 2010ISBN 978-0-8109-8491-2
The fifth book in the series is about Greg and Rowley's friendship, his great-grandmother Gammie, troubles of puberty, the school lock-in, and his Uncle Gary's fourth wedding. 
6Cabin FeverNovember 15, 2011ISBN 978-1-4197-0223-5
The sixth book in the series is about Greg, Manny, the playground, accidental vandalism, Christmas, and a blizzard. 
7The Third WheelNovember 13, 2012ISBN 978-1-4197-0584-7
The seventh book in the series is about Greg's date with Abigail for the school dance, Uncle Gary, the restaurant, Valentine's Day, chicken pox, and his life story and the hitch about no one knowing who shall be lucky in love. 
8Hard LuckNovember 5, 2013ISBN 978-1-4197-1132-9
The eighth book in the series is about Rowley and Abigail's relationship and Greg's and Rowley's, Fregley, the five second rule, a Magic 8-Ball, the Easter party, Meemaw's ring, the Mingo Kids, and his aunts. 
9The Long HaulNovember 4, 2014ISBN 978-1-4197-1189-3
The ninth book in the series is about the Heffley family's extremely disastrous road trip, their new pet pig, the country fair, the motel, their continuous encounters with the Beardo family, and the family's suspicion that the Beardos have stolen their luggage and belongings. 
10Old SchoolNovember 3, 2015ISBN 978-1-4197-1701-7
The tenth book in the series is about Greg Heffley starting off a new year, and when he accidentally crashes the car, he is forced to leave to Hardscrabble Farms to get away from his Dad's possible anger. But will Greg survive with Silas Scratch around? 
11Double Down[7]November 1, 2016ISBN 978-1-4197-2344-5
The pressure’s really piling up on Greg Heffley. The only thing he’s good at is playing video games, but his parents want him to broaden his horizons by doing something—anything—else. When Greg finds an old video camera in his basement, he thinks he may have discovered just the thing to prove he’s got big-time talent. With the help of his best friend, Rowley, Greg hatches a plan to make a scary movie . . . and to become rich and famous in the process. But is doubling down on movie-making a smart plan? Or is it just a recipe for doubling Greg’s troubles? 

Supplementary books

Toys and games

Action figures include: a mini figure pack (with Greg, Rowley, and Fregley), a 6-inch Greg Heffley figure, a 6-inch holiday figure based on Cabin Fever, and a Greg and Rodrick plush doll.

Audiobooks

Eleven audiobooks have been released for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The first 6 are read by Ramon de Ocampo, and Dan Russell from number 7. They are presented by Recorded Books and distributed by Audible.com.

Characters

Achievements

Awards and honors

Award Category Result
#1 New York Times Best Seller (114 weeks) Won
2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Book
2009 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Nominated
ALA Notable Book Won
2010 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Book[8]
2010 Most Favorite Book Around the World
2011 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Book
2012 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
2013 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Nominated
2014 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Won
2015 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
2016 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

Commercial success

Diary of a Wimpy Kid was well received from The Princeton Review, Gold Card Association, The Dallas News, The TRR Editors, The NW Press, and The JJ Printing Company. The New York Times, which ranks children's serials collectively on a "Series Books" bestseller list, has included the Wimpy Kid series for 64 weeks as of August 10, 2015.[9] USA Today, which ranks best sellers based on sales alone regardless of genre or intended audience, has listed Diary of a Wimpy Kid in its top 150, peaking at number 8, for 141 weeks as of April 4, 2010.

As of the same date, Rodrick Rules has been on the list for 117 weeks (peaking at number 4), The Last Straw has been on the list for 65 weeks (peaking at number 1), Dog Days has been on the list for all 25 weeks of its publication (peaking at number 1), and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary has been listed for all three weeks of its publication, peaking at number 2.[10]

As of May 2010, more than 32 million Wimpy Kid books are in print in the U.S., and the books have been sold in more than 30 countries.[11] In total, the series has sold over 150 million books.[12] The series has also generated over $500 million in revenue.[13]

Films

Jeff Kinney announced that a film based on the first book would be produced by 20th Century Fox. The film was released on March 19, 2010, moved up from an April 2 release date.[14] It was directed by Thor Freudenthal, who also directed Hotel for Dogs. The film starred Zachary Gordon as Greg, Robert Capron as Rowley (Greg's best friend), Steve Zahn as Frank (Greg's father), Rachael Harris as Susan (Greg's mother), Devon Bostick as Rodrick (Greg's older brother), Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny (Greg's younger brother), Chloë Grace Moretz as a new character named Angie, and Grayson Russell as Fregley.[3][15]

There is a second film in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series that was released on March 25, 2011,[16] which was based on the second book, Rodrick Rules, with Zachary Gordon returning as Greg Heffley. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was also filmed in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules also contains some scenes from The Last Straw.

The third film combines the third and fourth books, The Last Straw and Dog Days, taking stories from both, but mainly from Dog Days, from which it took its title. The decision to blend the two films was made to keep up with the ages of the actors. The film was released on August 3, 2012.[17]

The likelihood of a fourth live action film was slim. Kinney has announced the possibility for an animated film to be based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever as the next installment. In an interview for the latest book Hard Luck, Jeff Kinney stated he was working with Fox on a half-hour special of Cabin Fever, which was to be aired in late 2014,[18][19] but has since been delayed. In September 2016, Jeff Kinney announced officially the production of a fourth film; D.O.A.W.K The Long Haul on his Twitter account.[20]

Musical

A musical titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical is being produced by the Children's Theatre Company.[21]

References

  1. ↑ David Browne (March 20, 2011). "All about Jeff Kinney". Parade.com. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  2. ↑ Kinney, Jeff (April 2007). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's journal. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books. ISBN 0-8109-9313-9.
  3. 1 2 ""Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)" on". Comingsoon.net. March 19, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". Funbrain. Family Education Network. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  5. ↑ "WIMPY 2 LAST". 3 November 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  6. ↑ The 2009 TIME 100: Jeff Kinney Time magazine's 2009 list of The World's Most Influential People
  7. ↑ "Wimpy Kid Book 11 Cover and Title Revealed". Publishers Weekly. April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  8. ↑ Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, nick.com
  9. ↑ Dixler, Elsa. "The New York Times Best Sellers: Children's Books". The New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  10. ↑ "USA Today: Best-Selling Books Database". USA Today. April 21, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Release Date Revealed for Wimpy Kid No. 5". Publishers Weekly. May 20, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  12. ↑ Duerden, Nick (November 19, 2015). "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Jeff Kinney has sold 150 million copies of his book". The Independent. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  13. ↑ Lewis, Andy (June 27, 2011). "Inside 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid's' $500 Million Franchise". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules – On Double DVD and Blu-ray Now". Diaryofawimpykidmovie.com. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)" on IMDb.com
  16. ↑ 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Sequel to Bow Next March. Moviefone.com. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Hard Luck and Big Dreams: SLJ Chats with "Wimpy Kid" Creator Jeff Kinney". SLJ. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  19. ↑ Minzesheimer, Bob (August 8, 2013). "Narrator hits 'Hard Luck' in eighth Wimpy Kid book". USA Today. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  20. ↑ Kinney, Jeff (September 13, 2016). "OK, this is really happening! Filming starts next week in Atlanta!". Twitter. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  21. ↑ http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/69623-wimpy-kid-11-to-hit-shelves-this-november.html

External links

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