“This is a journal, not a diary.”
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is a bestselling series of children’s books, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney, that has grown into a multimedia franchise, including movies and spin-off books as well. As of October 2024, the series consists of nineteen main books, with them being released almost every year. With over 200 million books sold in over 50 languages worldwide, what made this series such a commercial success?
The series follows the misadventures of a middle-schooler named Greg Heffley, a frequently unreliable narrator who writes and illustrates about his life in a diary (which he insists is a journal). Throughout the series, he tries to become popular at school, usually to no avail, and he has to deal with his peers at school, as well as his dysfunctional family.
Greg’s family consists of Rodrick - the lazy older brother who plays in a rock band, Manny - the spoiled younger brother, Frank - the serious and overactive dad, and Susan - the mom who tends to spoil Manny and embarrass Greg. A few of Greg’s classmates at school include Rowley - his best friend, and Fregley - his weird and eccentric neighbor.
What started as an online book released in the mid-2000s became a global and successful franchise, which includes plenty of published books, live-action and animated films, an activity book, and even a spin-off book written from Rowley’s perspective. My personal recommendations for the series to start with are the first eight books, the first three live-action films, and books 9, 10, and 17. There’s plenty of good laughs to be found in them!
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