Consider the Source: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The title Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a little misleading. True, rising middle-schooler Greg Heffley is unathletic and small for his age, but Jeff Kinney’s bestselling book spends relatively little time focusing on his wimp factor. Even “Diary” part isn’t ideal, since Greg declares, on the first page, that the word “diary” is for sissies and that he’s recording his activities in a journal. Given Greg’s self-centered behavior, perhaps Chronicles of a Lazy Kid or Annals of a Sneaky Kid could would be more appropriate.

Friday’s release of the film adaptation of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (from the director of — uh-oh — Hotel for Dogs) inspired me to read Kinney’s “novel in cartoons,” which originated on the educational web site FunBrain. Written on lined noteb00k-style paper with illustrations on nearly every page, Diary of a Wimpy Kid straddled the line between picture book and graphic novel. Kinney’s simplistic cartooning - a notch or two above stick figures - provides a whimsical counterpoint to Greg’s grumpy, deadpan candor. Currently I’m reading the third book in the hilarious series, although the humor does not lie where one might expect to find it.