Interviewing Jeff Kinney, Author of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Third Wheel”

Have you seen the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movies?  Have you read the books?  Both the movies and books are fun for kids and adults alike!  I recently had the opportunity to talk with Author Jeff Kinney on the phone and let me tell you, he is as great as his books.

Brian is my oldest son and he LOVES to read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books series.  In fact, he has read them all!  He was so excited when I gave him a copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel (Book 7).  He is actually already done reading that book and looking forward to the next book that Jeff Kinney will write.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE THIRD WHEEL BOOK SYNOPSIS

A Valentine’s Day dance at Greg’s middle school has turned his world upside down.  As Greg scrambles to find a date, he’s worried he’ll be left out in the cold on the big night.  His best friend, Rowley, doesn’t have any prospects either, but that’s a small consolation.

An unexpected twist gives Greg a partner for the dance and leaves Rowley the odd man out.  But a lot can happen in one night, and in the end, you never know who’s to be lucky in love.

EXCERPT FROM DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THIRD WHEEL

“Sunday:  I wish I’d started keeping a journal a lot earlier on, because whoever ends up writing my biography is gonna have a lot of questions about my life in the years leading up to middle school.

Luckily, I remember just about everything that’s happened to me sine I was born.  In fact, I can even remember stuff that happened to me BEFORE I was born.

Back in those days it was just me swimming around in the dark, doing backflips and taking naps whenever I wanted.

Then one day when I was in the middle of a really good nap, I got woken up by these strange noises coming from the outside.

At the time I didn’t know what the heck I was hearing, but later on I found out it was Mom piping in music through these speakers she put on her belly.

I guess Mom thought if she played classical music for me every day before I was born, it would turn me into some kind of genius.”

TALKING WITH AUTHOR JEFF KINNEY

Do you have a number of books you’d like to write in this series or are you writing as you go along?

Jeff said that he used to feel like the series had to have an end (like 5), but now he feels like kids don’t treat his books like they would Harry Potter.  They’re comics.  Anything that makes him laugh or seems absurd inspires him for a new book.

Did you keep a diary when you were a kid?

Jeff didn’t have a diary as a kid, but he did as a grownup.  He started keeping a journal when he was 25.  He was playing video games a lot – in fact, too much, which inspired him to start keeping a journal.  By keeping a journal, he would spend less time on playing games and more time on drawing.  He kept about sixteen journals from the ages of 25 to 29 and the pictures in his books came from those journals.

With the success of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series, are there any plans for a spin-off set of books (i.e. new series or tv show)?

Jeff talked about a possible Diary of a Wimpy Kid Holiday Special (animated) or even creating a new series with all new characters.

Do you get letters from kids?  Have any of those letters really stood out?

Jeff talked about how he is hopelessly backlogged with thousands of letters.  Us bloggers know how that goes – trying to catch up!  The letters that stand out the most to him come from the kids who are sick.  He feels like he has the responsibility to make them happy so they feel more comfortable.

Many things seem to be moving towards technology.  Do you see eBooks and tablets surpassing traditional hardbound books in the near future for children?

Jeff talks about how it’s very important to put the physical book in a child’s hand.  It’s important for them to feel the weight of and the texture of the book.

I received a copy of the book, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” to facilitate this review.
All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine.