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March 13, 2010 by Brigid Alverson

Review: The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary

March 13, 2010 by Brigid Alverson   2 comments

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: How Greg Heffley Went Hollywood
By Jeff Kinney
Amulet
Hardback, $14.95

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary aims squarely for its audience—fans of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid and its sequels—and hits the sweet spot with a book that keeps some of the tone of the original while turning the subject around to the making of the Wimpy Kid movie.

 

The result is actually quite interesting. Kinney discusses all the aspects of making a movie, from choosing the cast and adapting the book to a screenplay to the nuts and bolts of building the scenery and feeding the crew. Everything is presented in simple, readable language and accompanied by illustrations from the book as well as plenty of photographs. This book seems to be even more generous with pictures than the original Wimpy Kid books, making it a quick read.

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Despite its accessibility, the book is filled with interesting facts. I was particularly intrigued by the lengths to which the crew goes to create a new reality, down to making special posters to go on the walls and writing fake newspaper articles about the characters. Kinney also includes snippets of his own sketchbook, the director’s childhood diary, and the writings of the cast members.

 

Kinney assumes that the reader has already read the Wimpy Kid books, and his tone is familiar and chatty. However, he does explain each piece of the story that is touched on in this book. So while the natural audience is Wimpy Kid fans, the book is accessible to newcomers as well.

 

While it’s not great literature, The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary is well written and engaging, and the quality is far higher than the standard movie tie-in—perhaps because it’s based on a book. This is a great read for Wimpy Kid fans as well as movie fans who want to learn about what goes on behind the scenes.

This review is based on a review copy supplied by the publisher.

Filed under: Reviews, Uncategorized

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About Brigid Alverson

Brigid Alverson, the editor of the Good Comics for Kids blog, has been reading comics since she was 4. She has an MFA in printmaking and has worked as a book editor and a newspaper reporter; now she is assistant to the mayor of Melrose, Massachusetts. In addition to editing GC4K, she writes about comics and graphic novels at MangaBlog, SLJTeen, Publishers Weekly Comics World, Comic Book Resources, MTV Geek, and Good E-Reader.com. Brigid is married to a physicist and has two daughters in college, which is why she writes so much. She was a judge for the 2012 Eisner Awards.

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Comments

  1. Kat Kan says

    March 16, 2010 at 11:23 pm

    I took my advance copy to school, and the 4th grade teacher grabbed it right away. By the next day, the kids were begging me to buy it for the school library – and I did! I have been one of those people who compulsively read “making of” books about movies and TV shows, and this one is up there with the best of them.

  2. Brigid says

    March 17, 2010 at 7:25 pm

    I had the same experience—my nephew, who is in fourth grade, spotted it at my house and immediately disappeared with it. He read the whole thing and loved it. I have already sent my review copy off to my niece in Chicago, so I expect another opinion very soon!

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