Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Okay, so I can be a literary snob, which means I should take off a muse or so from my score for "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". After all the structure is pretty episodic and not everything really contributes to the resolution. However, this book is not really targeted toward the literary snob but rather toward the child that is supposed to realize how much fun reading can be. And Jeff Kinney masters that in his books in a way that hardly anyone else equals. What I particularly enjoy is that Greg is not intentionally being bad. He is a middle child so psychologically it actually makes sense for him to seek attention. So he decides to become an immensely popular student. But somehow he always fails, no matter whehter he tries to be the school paper's cartoonist, a member of the Safety Patrol or the proprietor of a haunted house. And he doesn't just fail, he fails spectacularly! Also some of the characters are incredibly absurd - none more so than Greg's classmate Fregley. Apparently the diaries are based on Jeff Kinney's own experiences as a child - and I am not sure whether I should empathize or be in awe. In any case it is the beginning of a highly entertaining series - and if the children you bought these books for don't want to read them right now: Grab them yourself, it is definitely worth it! ...weiterlesen