Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series)

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is a pentalogy of humorous books, written by American cartoonist and online game developer Jeff Kinney. They follow through the illustrations of Greg Heffley, a male student in middle-school explaining his everyday adventures through his detailed drawings and simple notes.

Background
After Jeff Kinney was unsuccessful in syndicating his comic strip, Igdoof, he started writing down his ideas for about 6 years (in 1998), which eventually became Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jeff Kinney wrote his last of his work of Diary of a Wimpy Kid in 2004. The series are believed to be loosely based on Jeff Kinney's childhood, and and virtually all the characters are based off people in reality, who are replaced by fictional names to protect their identity. Before publishing, the author stated that he had a rather complex childhood in middle school, and wanted to write about this.

Books
In total, there are about five books in the series, each having a different color and a picture.

Note 1: In the 5th book, on the first page it says "More Diary of a Wimpy Kids coming soon" revealing a 6th book. Not much is known about the 6th release.
 * Book 1: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, released in 2007, talks about Greg and his relationship with Rowley, and the infamous Cheese Touch. (Red)
 * Book 2: Rodrick Rules, released in 2008, is about Greg and his relationship with his brother, Rodrick, and about the traumatic event that Greg experienced during the summer. (Blue)
 * Book 3: The Last Straw, released in 2009, is about Greg and his father's relationship. (Green)
 * Book 4: Dog Days, released in 2009, is about Greg's worst summer vacation. (Yellow)
 * Book 5: The Ugly Truth, released in 2010, is about Greg and Rowley's friendship. (Purple)

Note 2: The Do-It-Yourself Book and Movie Diary are not stated because they are technically not part of the series.

Reception
The New York Times, which ranks children's serials collectively on a "Series Books" bestseller list, has included the Wimpy Kid series for 64 weeks as of April 10, 2010. USA Today, which ranks best sellers based on sales alone regardless of genre or intended audience, has listed Diary of a Wimpy Kid in its top 150, peaking at number 8, for 141 weeks as of April 4, 2010. As of the same date, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules has been on the list for 117 weeks (peaking at number 4), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw has been on the list for 65 weeks (peaking at number 1), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days has been on the list for all 25 weeks of its publication (peaking at number 1), and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary has been listed for all three weeks of its publication, peaking at number 2. As of May 2010, more than 32 million Wimpy Kid books are in print in the U.S., and the books have been sold in more than 30 countries.

Film Adapations
In March 2010, Fox 2000 Released a movie of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, based on the first book. The film garnered mixed reviews, and is rated 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. Fox has announced that all of the books will be adapted into films, if each one is successful.

Coming March 25th 2011, there will be a Diary of a Wimpy Kid: "Rodrick Rules" movie.

Trivia

 * The German version is called I'm Surrounded by Idiots because there is no German word for wimpy.