![]() Dear Dumb Diary’s Jamie has a pretty abrasive personality, but it’s always easy to see that underneath it all, she wants to do well and to have friends and to be happy. The Dork Diaries series has a main character who is not always on her best behavior, but who is constantly trying to break out of the patterns that cause her problems. Most heroes in children’s books are appealing because they have some innate good qualities that keep readers rooting for their success. And I think that’s what has made me actually start to dislike him. Often it seems like he is not even trying to improve himself, or to do the right thing. He doesn’t take his schoolwork seriously. We laugh so much at Rowley for being such a nerd, and so babyish in his behavior, and the end result is that we glorify Greg’s bullying, while still vilifying bullies who pick on wimpy kids.Īnd it’s not just Rowley who elicits this jerky kind of behavior from Greg. And worst of all - the books often use these moments to poke fun at Rowley. Rowley does stand up for himself now and then, but it never seems to take, because he’s always right back there, showing up on Greg’s doorstep with cookies, or bailing him out of trouble. And we never see anyone comment that this is wrong. But the biggest bully of the entire series is Greg himself! He uses Rowley for his own purposes, and then just as easily tosses him aside when he doesn’t need him. Bigger kids at school bully him and other smaller kids. The reader hears Greg discuss bullies again and again. ![]() ![]() The fact is, Greg Heffley is kind of a jerk.įor one thing, his treatment of Rowley - and the fact that Rowley always comes back for more - is a huge problem for me in these books. By the sixth book, Cabin Fever, I ran out of excuses for his behavior and started wondering why anyone wants to read about him, let alone spend time with him. Greg is a bit sarcastic, but he’s funny, and the mood of the entire book is mostly light, poking fun at the annoyances of middle school without getting too bogged down in negativity.Īs the series progresses, though, Greg Heffley stops being cute and morphs into someone who is anything but a wimpy kid. His older brother, Rodrick, is a huge bully, and his parents are comically out of touch, and focused mostly on his little brother, Manny. His best friend is still very much a child, while he’s looking anxiously toward teenhood. ![]() The main character, Greg, begins the first book as the wimpy seventh grader we all know and love. The new Diary of a Wimpy Kid has just been announced! Big Shot, the 16th book in the series will be released on 26th October 2021.ĭiscover more books loved by kids 7+ here and what to read next our 10 Books Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid here.Earlier this Spring, I read through the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in about ten days, and I have to say that, taken together as a series, the books aren’t quite what I expected. Written and illustrated as engaging and hilarious diary entries, Wimpy Kid is the perfect series for reluctant readers.Īnd personally I'd recommend these books for ages 7+ The hilarious and internationally bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid books follow the adventures of wise-cracking middle school student Greg Heffley and his best friend Rowley Jefferson, who must somehow survive the scariest time of anyone's life: middle school.
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