Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal

Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal is a spin-off of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was announced on January 8, 2019, and released on April 9, 2019. This book is written from the perspective of Rowley Jefferson, acting as Greg's biographer.

A shorter, 112-page version, Diary of Greg Heffley's Best Friend, was released in October 2018 specifically for Scholastic Book Clubs, and again on February 28, 2019, for World Book Day.

On the subject of a sequel, Jeff Kinney said, "I'd really like to write more Rowley books. I think it's a lot of fun, and I think it's really fresh, and he can write in lots of different styles about lots of different genres, so I'd really like to get to there, where Rowley is authoring lots of books." A sequel, entitled Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure, was announced on February 13, 2020, and is scheduled to release on April 7, 2020.

Synopsis
"Get ready for a whole new look into Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid! Introducing the newest Wimpy Kid author—Rowley Jefferson! Rowley’s best friend Greg Heffley has been chronicling his middle-school years in thirteen Diary of a Wimpy Kid journals . . . and counting. But it’s finally time for readers to hear directly from Rowley in a journal of his own. In Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid, Rowley writes about his experiences and agrees to play the role of biographer for Greg along the way. (After all, one day Greg will be rich and famous, and everyone will want to know his life’s story.) But Rowley is a poor choice for the job, and his “biography” of Greg is a hilarious mess. Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal offers readers a new way to look at the Wimpy world—one fan won't want to miss!"

The book starts out with Rowley talking about his journal and him and Greg are best friends. He starts talking also about his family and he doesn't want Greg to find out about his diary, which he does. Greg and Rowley get into an argument and Rowley says if Greg is a jerk, he won't say nice things about him in his diary. Then Greg says Rowley's diary can be Greg's biography and Greg's diary is an autobiography, which Rowley agrees with.

Rowley starts with Greg's life and when Rowley moved to Greg's street in 4th grade. Rowley was scared being in a new place. Then his mom gets him a book to make new friends which don’t work with Greg at first. Greg says that he put a flag in the lot of Rowley’s house before they moved meaning that he owned the house, which wasn’t true. Rowley then talks about Greg’s family.

In the next chapter, Greg and Rowley are having their first sleepover. Rowley brings his stuffed animal and Greg and Rowley sleep in the basement. They then talk about Goat Man (from The Meltdown) and then Goat man scratches the window. Greg and Rowley run upstairs terrified, but it was just one of Rodrick‘s pranks. Rowley has to leave early, and also wets his pants.

After that, Rowley mentioned this kid named Tevin Larkin who lives near them. He invited Greg and Rowley to his birthday party but find out they were the only ones invite. They watch a movie about a guy who turns into an animal. After it’s over, Tevin wants to watch it again but the others refused. Tevin gets mad and gets hyper. They try to leave his house but his mom won’t let them. Tevin then catches up with them but Rowley falls in a ditch with a hornet's nest which Rowley gets stung and they leave early. Greg then says he owes Rowley for getting him out of the party.

In the next chapter, Greg and Rowley are playing in the woods but some teenagers make fun of them. They go farther in and make a fort to protect themselves. Rowley then trips over a rock and twists his ankle. Greg then says it’s a gravestone and they're freaked out. Greg forgets about Rowley ankle and runs off terrified. But Rowley's parents call Greg to find Rowley

Then, Rowley talks about his grandpa and how he called him "Bampy" and he died. They visit his old cabin and Rowley takes a shower but he hears footsteps in the hall. Then the door opens but NO ONE was there. He thinks it was his dad but he was at the store. When he comes back, he says it was the wind. But Rowley thinks it was the GHOST OF BAMPY.

To make up for not having Greg in the last chapter, he talks about this one time they were playing video games and Greg told Rowley about a burglar and Greg left Rowley's house. But Greg comes back and pretends to be the burglar. Rowley runs into the garage and hides. Greg then comes in and Rowley hits the “burglar” with a tennis rackets. Greg then tells Rowley his prank and is mad at him.

The next chapter is another time Greg got mad at him. Greg chases Rowley with a stick for fun because there are slugs on it. Rowley climbs onto Mr. Yee’s rock. Greg tries to climb up but almost falls in a puddle. Greg tells Rowley to pull him on his feet but Rowley misheard and thought he said pull him BY his feet. Greg gets mad and tells him he’ll get him back for that.

The next chapter is the opposite of the last two. One day, Greg calls Rowley and asks him to clean his garage and if he does, he’ll give him HALF of his Halloween candy. Rowley, excited, goes over, and the two clean the garage. Greg, forgetting about the candy, is about to leave but Rowley reminds him. Greg then gets the candy but it turns out to be empty except for three jawbreakers and a raisin. Rowley is mad because Greg promised him a TON of candy but Greg only said HALF. Rowley is about to tell Susan but Greg promised something better than candy. He then gets out paper and a pencil and draws him a Good Boy Award. Greg says Rowley gets one every time he does something good. Rowley then does many good things for Greg but later Rowley tells him he doesn’t want anymore because his binder is full. Greg then tells Rowley he’s making a new system and the first awards were worthless. The new awards are Lil Goodies and if Rowley does fifty nice things/gets fifty Lil goodies, he’ll get a fancy prize under a sheet. It takes Rowley over a month to get them and he turns them into Greg but Greg says after every month, the system resets so he’s back to zero. Rowley, angry, rips off the sheet to find Greg’s dirty laundry. Rowley calls Greg a crummy friend but Greg lies and says that the prize was fake and the real prize is in the basement Rowley needs 100 Lil goodies now.

Continuity

 * While chasing Rowley with a slug on a stick, Greg nearly falls in a puddle. He asks Rowley to help, and Rowley mishears his request to "get him back on his feet" and causes him to fall in the puddle. Greg then chases Rowley and waits outside his house with a stick. The reverse happens in, where Greg tries to hit Rowley with a stick and chases him up a tree. Later, he chases Rowley and nearly falls into a river, and Rowley runs away. Kenny Keith and his thugs arrive and Kenny pulls Greg's feet, causing him to fall into the river.
 * Rowley saves Greg from attending Tevin Larkin's party after he accidentally falls on a beehive. In Diary of a Wimpy Kid online, Greg falls in a hornet's nest while going to get Tingy at the Snellas' birthday party, saving Frank from having to do something silly in front of the baby.
 * The "Vikings and Indians" game returns, titled "Vikings and Ninjas."
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
 * This book's cover has the same red and yellow color scheme as Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
 * Like in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this book has Rowley telling Greg a joke from a book called How to Make Friends in New Places.
 * Rowley recalls having eaten the Cheese. It is revealed that he now gags whenever he has to eat food with cheese.
 * Various new Zoo-Wee Mama! comics appear, with the description that they were written during the events of Diary of a Wimpy Kid but never submitted to the school paper.
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days: Rowley's father first calls Rowley "an awesome, friendly kid" in Dog Days, a phrase that is repeated in this book.
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth:
 * One of the "That's you" drawings of Rowley depict him as a broken egg. This could be a reference to Rowley Junior.
 * The "Best Friends" locket that Rowley gives Greg reappears in this book.
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever: Greg's book of magic tricks is referenced.
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel: Good Boy Awards first appearance as one of the "lame" awards that Greg takes down.
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School: When Greg and Rowley play "Vikings and Ninjas" in the woods, Rowley sprains his ankle by tripping over a rock. Greg claims it is a gravestone and they disturbed an ancient burial ground. In Old School, Gareth trips over a rock with scrapes on it, which Emilio says could have been done by Silas Scratch. Jeffrey says the rock is probably Silas Scratch's gravestone, and they are cursed because they disturbed him.
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down: Rowley states that "once Greg gets an idea in his head, he does not let it go." Greg says the same thing about Susan in Double Down.
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown: Mr. Yee and Joseph O'Rourke are mentioned.
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball:
 * The illustrations of Greg's baby pictures and Rowley with an ice cream cone on his head also appear in Wrecking Ball, in Greg's style.
 * The picture that Rowley draws in the cement is done in the Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid art style.
 * The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book:
 * The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book includes a section titled "Diary of an Awesome, Friendly Kid." Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid's cover is derived from its title page. The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book's section is written in a similar style, except the font is cursive and the drawings are in full color.
 * One of the "original" superheroes that Greg and Rowley come up with is called "Diaper Whip." This is also the name of a game Fregley invents in The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book. Diaper Whip was also a concept name for Löded Diper.
 * Greg and Rowley try to communicate telepathically. The way this is done is similar to a question in The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book asking if the reader thinks people will have "instant messaging chips" implanted in their brains in the future. The accompanying illustration shows Greg thinking "u r a dork" while Rowley responds ":[".
 * Greg mocks Rowley with the question "Are you embarrassed that you wet the bed yesterday?" In The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book, one of the questions on Rodrick's activity page is "Are you embarrassed that you pooped in your diaper today?"
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown: Greg puts plastic wrap on a toilet as Rodrick does in this short.
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown: Greg puts plastic wrap on a toilet as Rodrick does in this short.

Cultural references

 * Greg has a LEGO dragon, which Rowley thinks is cool.
 * Greg owns a Chewbacca mug, referencing the fictional character from the Star Wars series.
 * One of the superhero origins that Greg describes is being bitten by a radioactive spider, which is the origin story of Spider-Man.

Errors

 * Tevin Larkin is missing a pimple on page 26.
 * Mr. Hardy's moles are facing the wrong way on pages 113 to 119.
 * Susan Heffley is missing the curl on the back of her hair on several pages.
 * On page 184, Susan’s right leg is not colored in