When construction goes wrong and Greg's school has its funding cut, the family looks for new houses to move into. The Heffleys receive an inheritance from Greg's recently deceased great-aunt and use the money to renovate their house. In the winter, Greg and Rowley participate in a street-wide snowball fight.
Greg explores his creative talents by playing an instrument, making a movie with Rowley, and attending a wild Halloween party.įor Christmas, the Heffleys board a plane to a tropical resort. Later, to avoid his dad after accidentally ruining the car, Greg goes on a school field trip to an old-fashioned farm.
Greg's mother petitions the town to not use electronics for a weekend. The Heffleys go on a road trip over the summer, to Greg's dismay. When things get worse for him, Greg uses a Magic 8-Ball to make his decisions for him and turn his life around. Greg tries to find a date for a school Valentine's Day dance, and he and Rowley end up both taking a girl named Abigail.Ĭontinuing from the last book, Abigail and Rowley are now a couple, leaving Greg out. The family is stranded in the house during a blizzard, while Greg fears that he will go to jail for accidentally vandalizing his school. While starting a new school year, Greg realizes he is growing up and has to face the challenges of this period, like changing dentists, attending a school lock-in, and learning about puberty. Over summer vacation, Greg struggles with a boardwalk vacation, staying friends with Rowley, impressing a high school girl at the town pool, and coping with a new pet dog. Greg must convince him to change his mind, whilst trying to impress his crush. Greg's father, Frank, wants Greg to be stronger and plans to send him to a military school. Greg's brother, Rodrick, threatens to reveal an embarrassing incident that took place last summer, and Greg must prevent this while putting up with Rodrick's oppressive ways.
The introduction to the series focuses on the protagonist, Greg Heffley, and his attempts to become popular in school. As of 2021, more than 250 million copies have been sold globally, making it the sixth best-selling book series of all time. Since the release of the online version in May 2004, most of the books have garnered positive reviews and commercial success. The first, second, fourth and ninth installments have been adapted into films by 20th Century Fox two books have been released chronicling the production of the films. A spin-off series, centering on the character Rowley Jefferson, has three installments as of 2021. Sixteen books in the series have been released as of 2021, and a 17th book is due to be released in October 2022 an activity book has also been released. In April 2009, Time magazine named Kinney in the Time 100 most influential people. The first installment was released in April 2007 and received immediate success. In February 2006, during the New York Comic Con, Kinney signed a multi-book deal with publisher Abrams Books to turn Diary of a Wimpy Kid into a printed book series. Nonetheless, many online readers requested a printed version. The online version had received almost 20 million views by 2009. The website made daily entries from September 2004 to June 2005. In May 2004, FunBrain and Kinney released an online version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Kinney spent eight years working on the book before showing it to a publisher. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a diary (although he constantly tells the audience that it is a journal).