Rodrick Rules

In an interview with CBS News in 2011, author Jeff Kinney describes himself as a “failed cartoonist” who wasn’t able to break into the world of newspaper cartoons. To date, Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has sold over 275 million copies around the world. It is ranked as one of the top bestselling book series of all time, and several film and television adaptations have been produced since the first book was published in 2007. The beloved series now includes 17 novels as of 2022, but the series was first published as a daily webcomic on the website FunBrain starting in 2004. Ironically, Kinney wasn’t sure about turning his webcomic into a book aimed at children. According to an interview with BookTrust in 2018, Kinney claims that he was “a bit concerned” that children might not recognize how deeply flawed Greg Heffley is. He worried that kids might see Greg as a role model instead of a character to learn from. Kinney explains that the first book wasn’t originally written for kids at all, but the numbers show that the overwhelming majority of Kinney’s fans are young readers who are eager to learn more about what happens to Greg Heffley as he navigates middle school. Diary of a Wimpy Kid has also found an adult fanbase. The series contains sarcasm and subtleties that adult audiences appreciate (Drabble, Emily. “‘I didn’t think kids would read Diary of A Wimpy Kid!’: Jeff Kinney on his books’ success.” BookTrust, 2018).

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series balances short, approachable passages with frequent comic strip breaks in the middle of pages, which provides an approachable reading choice for young reluctant readers who might be intimidated by walls of unbroken text. However, in the early years of its initial publication, many parents shared author Jeff Kinney’s concern over the character of Greg Heffley serving as a role model to young children. In an article titled “Here’s Why You Want Questionable Role Models Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid’s Greg in Books” published by Scholastic in 2019, author Kelsey Kloss argues that Greg Heffley’s moral failings are what make him such an intriguing character that kids love to read about. Kloss describes Greg as being “a little narcissistic, dishonest, and lazy,” but she adds that characters like this are rarely seen in children’s books. By watching Greg make one bad choice after another, kids are given the chance to explore their own moral compass and question how they would behave if they were in Greg’s shoes. Of course, Greg’s bad choices often backfire on him, which results in more hilarity and hijinks that young readers can’t get enough of (Kloss, Kelsey. “Here’s Why You Want Questionable Role Models Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid’s Greg in Books.” Scholastic Parents, 2019).