Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

The fourth book is here, and 9- to 12- year olds across the country couldn't be happier. After advertising and organizing the pre-orders at school through our Scholastic Book Fair, I found myself at Target on the 12th and grabbed one off the shelf myself to read immediately. Yes, the next day I was ordering a delivery to be rushed to my school. Yes, two days later a box of 46 copies was to arrive at my door. But I could not resist getting in on the fun of the much anticipated release date.
As for the book itself? Still entertaining. This one details Greg's summer vacation of: trying to laze around the house, lamenting family bonding time, and the beginning of the end (at least it seems) of his friendship with Rowley. Oh, and trying to be macho in front of the cute girl at the pool, of course. After reading 4 DWK books, I'm still bothered that Greg is so oblivious to the things he does that are mean or obnoxious to others. I still look for that brief glimpse of "oh I shouldn't have done that" or "why don't I do something at least a little bit nice to make up for it," but I know that's not the reality of his character. In the meantime, I'm still loving how wildly entertaining they are to kids and could not be happier as a teacher that I have students who LOVE. TO. READ. Kinney's books.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney

The third book in the Wimpy Kid series, I found this to be the funniest one yet. My students had started reading it before me because I couldn't hold them off once the new copies arrived at school - even for the few hours it would have taken me to read it! After hearing so many of my kids laugh out loud during our SILENT reading zone time (it was painful, but I managed to tolerate it without getting mad at anyone enjoying a book :) ), I was hardly surprised when I, too, actually laughed out loud while reading a few parts. The conflict in The Last Straw is between Greg and his father, with the usual other characters playing their usual roles. Highly enjoyable, and still seems a great fix for reluctant readers in older grades.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

This is the first in a series of cartoon novels about Greg Heffley, a pretty standard middle-schooler who tries to avoid trouble & teasing in his daily life. He’s a likeable enough character, and the cartoons throughout are fun. Greg is pretty sneaky and does some semi-mean things without getting caught - but in the end he learns to be nicer to his dorky best friend, so I guess that counts for something. I think it would be a fun “holiday” read for most kids, and probably best fit for reluctant readers.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

The second in the Wimpy Kid series highlights Greg’s struggles with his older brother Rodrick. Rodrick, a drummer in a rock/metal band, gives Greg & their parents trouble from start to finish with only a few reprieves along the way. I kept waiting for there to be a moment when Greg is really nice to someone, or he does the right thing when no one is looking, or even when he works hard on a school project for once - but he never really comes through in that sense. There’s a lot of buzz around these books in my classroom right now, and I can see how the humor, pictures, and descriptions of Greg’s failures all contribute to the popularity. Do kids take any notice that the constant minor mischief (he never does anything really bad) is basically never redeemed by goodness? I have to think it doesn’t even register with the reader, or if it does, it has little impact. I guess I’ll know if my students start buying history papers off their older brothers or convincing their classmates to pretend that one student is actually invisible…