Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Comics are awesome. I know that’s not a controversial statement coming from me but I thought I’d put it out there. Full text books are good too but I like my books with pictures. If only there was something out there that could meet me half way. If only there was some kind of full text/comic book hybrid.

Thank you Jeff Kinney. Thank you.

Thank you for ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’, the story of Greg Heffley and his adventures in 7th grade. One part slice of life written journal, one part cartoon, 100% funny.

Greg Heffley doesn’t stand out much. He’s a scrawny kid that’s neither part of the cool gang or one of the dropkicks. He’s hoping that all this is going to change as he looks forward to his first day of year 7. He records his thoughts and feelings in his journal (it may say “Diary” on the front, but it’s really a journal – blame Mum) in a combination of written words and cartoon drawings. The drawings don’t just illustrate the story, they actively participate in the story telling process. This is why it’s more comic book than picture book. It’s a mix of styles that works great.

This book is aimed at younger readers, I’d say 8-13. And it’s something that I can recommend wholeheartedly. Not only is it a lot of fun but there’s nothing in there that I found too immature or objectionable. I’ve been looking at a few kids book recently and it’s great to find a book that I can put in the hands of a younger kid without worrying. The downside is that for older and/or stronger readers there may not be enough here to keep your attention.

It’s interesting when you read a book that’s written in the first person (“I did this, I did that etc…”) how much you identify with the character. After all, everyone is the hero of their own story. But when you start thinking about it, Greg is a bit of a jerk. He wants everyone to look up to him. Everyone around him is viewed as inferior. His willingness to allow his best friend to cop the punishment for something that Greg was guilty of. Sure it’s funny, but Greg is not exactly a nice guy.

Just like Greg, we can fool ourselves into thinking that we’re the centre of the universe. That everything revolves around us. That we are innocent and that it’s everyone else who is to blame. But that’s not true. Every single one of us is guilty of sin. We all ignore God. We all need forgiveness. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out (see Alex’s article on Romans 7 or read Romans 7:18) . Like Greg, we can be guilty of forgetting that we are not perfect and that we need Jesus.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a lot of fun. Here’s hoping that Greg wakes up to himself in the later books.

For more articles by Joel A Moroney, head on over to Pop Culture Christ.

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