 |
This page has been protected so that only users with a certain level of rights can edit it. This may be due to an editing conflict or a large influx of vandalism or spam that may result from being a highly visited page. For users who don't hold a certain level of rights, if you have an idea for something that should be added to the page, message the admins with your suggestion. |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid | |
|---|---|
 The official logo for the series. | |
|
Author |
|
|
Country |
United States |
|
Language |
English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, German, Thai, Russian, Turkish, French, Vietnamese and many more |
|
Genre |
Realistic Fiction, Satire |
|
Publisher |
Abrams Books in US, and Puffin Books in UK. Thorndike Publication (GALE) for the large print edition. |
|
Original Run |
April 1, 2007-present |
|
Media Type |
Print (paperback and hardback) and Digital (e-book and audiobook) |
|
Number of books in series (So far) |
18 (Released) |
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (DOAWK for short) is a series of comedy novels, games, websites, and films, written by American cartoonist and online game (Poptropica) designer Jeff Kinney. They follow through the diary journal of Greg Heffley, a male student in middle-school explaining his everyday adventures through his drawings and simple notes. It first started as Igdoof in the early 1990s and after its failure, he made up of which was a comic about a middle school weakling called Greg Heffley. Jeff Kinney started writing ideas and eventually made a online fiction novel, uploaded to FunBrain in 2003-2006, where it got 20 million views and was later made into a book series, then later were made into film adaptations.
Background
After facing initial dispiritedness in his attempt to syndicate his comic strip, "Igdoof," Jeff Kinney shifted gears and began jotting down his ideas for a new project. Over a span of six years, from 1998 to 2004, these ideas gradually evolved into what we now know as "Diary of a Wimpy Kid."
Drawing inspiration from his personal experiences and people he knew, Jeff Kinney crafted the series around a family, with virtually all characters based on real individuals. To safeguard their identities, he cleverly replaced their names with fictional ones.
The protagonist of this engaging tale, Greg Heffley, was conceptualized back in 1998 as a middle school weakling. Kinney dedicated himself to weaving stories about Greg's escapades, documenting them in a humble writing pad. During this creative process, whenever a humorous idea struck, he cleverly interconnected it with others, gradually forming a massive 1,300+ pages book.
In 2004, Kinney decided to share his work with the world and uploaded the book on FunBrain. However, to make it more accessible to online readers, he trimmed it down to approximately 600 pages. The web book garnered an overwhelming response, amassing over 25 million views. The resounding success of this online venture encouraged him to take the series further and transform it into published books.
With this decision, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" was born, captivating readers young and old alike, and embarking on a remarkable journey that has since become a cherished part of contemporary literature. Jeff Kinney's persistence and creativity culminated in a literary sensation that continues to bring joy to millions of readers around the world.
Books in the series
As of 2024, there are nineteen books in the series, each having a different color, a photo cover and plot.
Main
| Number | Name | Premise | Release date | Color | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Greg Heffley tries various things to get popular at school, whilst avoiding the dreaded Cheese Touch. | April 1, 2007 | Red | |
| 2 | Rodrick Rules | Greg tries to endure his brother's tyrannical behavior whilst trying to keep the event that Greg experienced during the summer a secret. | February 1, 2008 | Blue | |
| 3 | The Last Straw | Greg tries to improve his relationship with his father, Frank Heffley, whilst trying to impress Holly Hills. | January 13, 2009 | Green | |
| 4 | Dog Days | Greg struggles with multiple things during the summer, such as a boardwalk vacation and coping with his new pet dog. | October 12, 2009 | Yellow | |
| 5 | The Ugly Truth | Greg's best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has ditched him after the events of Dog Days. Afterwards, the former learns about puberty. | November 9, 2010 | Purple | |
| 6 | Cabin Fever | Greg vandalizes school property, however a blizzard hits and keeps the Heffley family (besides Frank) inside. | November 15, 2011 | Light Blue | |
| 7 | The Third Wheel | Greg tries to get with a girl for the Valentine's Dance. | November 13, 2012 | Brown | |
| 8 | Hard Luck | Rowley gets a girlfriend, which disappoints Greg. He then turns to a Magic 8-Ball for answers. | November 5, 2013 | Lime-green | |
| 9 | The Long Haul | The Heffleys decide to go on a road trip, but things don't go well for them. | November 3, 2014 | Orange | |
| 10 | Old School | Susan convinces the town to go electronics-free for a weekend. | November 3, 2015 | Black | |
| 11 | Double Down | Greg decides to express his creativity. | November 1, 2016 | Red with yellow stripes | |
| 12 | The Getaway | The Heffleys go on vacation to Isla de Corales to escape the cold weather, but a lot of things go wrong. | November 7, 2017 | Blue with green stripes | |
| 13 | The Meltdown | Greg's school is shut down, and his neighborhood turns into a battleground. | October 30, 2018 | Dark purple gradient with light blue stripes | |
| 14 | Wrecking Ball | The Heffleys try to make improvements to their house, but it quickly goes downhill. | November 5, 2019 | Gray with orange stripes | |
| 15 | The Deep End | The Heffleys go on a cross-country camping trip, but they end up in an RV park. | October 27, 2020 | Light Blue with blue stripes | |
| 16 | Big Shot | Greg signs up for basketball after being asked to by his mother. | October 26, 2021 | White with blue, and yellowish-orange stripes | |
| 17 | Diper Överlöde | Greg tags along with his brother Rodrick's band, Löded Diper. | October 25, 2022 | Black and gold witrh grey stripes | |
| 18 | No Brainer | Greg's school is on the brink of closing down, so Greg and his classmates must raise their grades to save the school. | October 24, 2023 | Mint-Green with yellow stripes | |
| 19 | Hot Mess | All of Susan’s family comes together for a chaotic vacation on Ruttyneck Island. | October 22, 2024 | Red and White plaid tablecloth |
Before 2007
There have been some books before the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid released.
| Name | Premise | Focus | Release date | Color | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Igdoof | This was a comic strip that Jeff Kinney made for the University of Maryland's campus newspaper. | Comic Strip | 2003 | White and Black | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid (online) | This book is the forerunner to the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in general. The book was published online in order to see what people thought of it before considering releasing a published and printed book. | Reviews | May 2004 |
|
Supplements
The series has also gotten supplements.
| Name | Premise | Focus | Release date | Color | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary | The book delves into the making of the first three Wimpy Kid live-action films. | Making of movies |
|
White | |
| The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: The Next Chapter | This book delves into the making of The Long Haul. | Making of movie | May 9, 2017 | White | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Special Cheesiest Edition | This book is to celebrate Diary of a Wimpy Kid's 10th anniversary. The pages are whiter with yellow siding, and the book also contains Jeff Kinney's signature. | Celebrating Diary of a Wimpy Kid's 10th anniversary | August 2017 | Red | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book | This book lets you create a Diary of a Wimpy Kid-styled |
Book creator | October 1, 2008 |
|
|
| The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book | This is a revised version of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book. It added more than 60 pages. | Book creator | May 1, 2011 | Brown | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Blank Journal | You get to write in your own journal, just like Greg Heffley! | Free-to-write journal | August 1, 2017 | Red | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid Writer's Notebook | This is similar to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book. It contains three notebooks, one is for thoughts and ideas, one for your comics and one is a sketch paper for drawings. | Notebook | October 8, 2013 | Lime | |
| Special Disney+ Editions | These are copies of the books, except they have a special cover to celebrate that book's Disney+ film. Currently, only Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules, and Cabin Fever have these covers. | Special editions | Since Diary of a Wimpy Kid was released | Varies | |
| Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid | Spin-off books for the series, the series revolves around Rowley Jefferson writing events in his journal. | Spinoffs | April 9, 2019 | Varies |
Film Adaptations
The series has gotten film adaptations since 2010, both live-action and animated.
| Name | Style | Release date | Rotten Tomatoes Score | Book based on | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Live-Action | March 19th, 2010 | 54% | Diary of a Wimpy Kid | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules | Live-Action | March 25, 2011 | 47% | Rodrick Rules | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days | Live-Action | August 3rd, 2012 | 52% | The Last Straw and Dog Days | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul | Live-Action | May 19, 2017 | 19% | The Third Wheel, Hard Luck, The Long Haul, and Old School | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Animated | December 3, 2021 | 75% | Diary of a Wimpy Kid | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rüles | Animated | December 2, 2022 | 50% | Rodrick Rules | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever | Animated | December 8, 2023 | 67% | Cabin Fever |
_Official_Poster.jpg){kind=link}
Reception
The New York Times, which ranks children's book series collectively on a "Series Books" bestseller list, has included the Wimpy Kid series for 64 weeks as of April 10, 2010 . 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, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules has been on the list for 117 weeks (peaking at number 4), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw has been on the list for 65 weeks (peaking at number 1), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: 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. As of May 2010, more than 200 million Wimpy Kid books are sold worldwide., and the books have been sold in more than 30 countries in the world. As of 2014, Jeff Kinney has made 25 million dollars from the series.
Trivia
- The series was originally supposed to be for adult readers, but that changed when a publisher saw it after Jeff Kinney changed the cover.
- On July 1, 2020, Jeff Kinney stated in a Twitter tweet that Greg will not age, meaning that the series might be on a floating timeline, especially considering that other characters do not seem to age either.
- However, the series does have continuity and characters do die irreversibly in the series, even though they do not seem to age while they are alive.
- Because the books never have the characters age, the cast members from the first three live-action films got recasted for the fourth film because of them having to grow up.
- The first three film adaptations centered on Greg having a conflicting relationship with someone close to him.
- First film: His friendship, break-up and resolution with Rowley
- Second film: His rivalry and eventual friendship with his brother, Rodrick
- Third film: His conflict and differences and eventual resolution with his father, Frank. Same thing can be said about his desire for a budding relationship with Holly Hills.
- In the first teaser trailer of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, the location of the movie was possibly revealed in Indiana, Ohio, or West Virginia. When Greg and Rowley look at the map, they say that Indianapolis is only 2 inches away. Also, it shows a map of Indiana. In the car, the GPS says the car is on Blue Ridge Parkway. A similar shaped road also named Blue Ridge Parkway is in West Virginia. There is also an Ohio license plate on the van.
- The first three films were shot in Vancouver, Canada.
- The character appearing with Greg on the title page for each book is usually the main antagonist.
- The Long Haul and Wrecking Ball are the only two books with Jeff Kinney's name in the lower right corner instead of the centre.
- In the first three live action films, Greg is portrayed by Zachary Gordon, in The Long Haul he is portrayed by Jason Drucker, and in the animated films he is voiced by Brady Noon, except in Cabin Fever, instead being voiced by Wesley Kimmel.
- Every book in the main series and the two movie diaries have exactly 217 reading pages, like it always is.
- Since the release of the first book back in 2007, at least one book in the series has been released every single year, with 2009 currently being the only year to have released more than one book (the third and fourth books specifically). And starting with the fourth book, all DoaWK-books have been released in the fall, in either October or November.
- The fourth, thirteenth and fifteenth through nineteenth books have been released in October.
- The fifth through twelfth books and the fourteenth books were all released in November.
- Every book (as of now) contains 217 pages. This because Jeff Kinney wanted to look the same on a bookshelf, and he felt like it was the right length.