Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Bibliographic Information: Kinney, Jeff. (2008). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. Illus. Jeff Kinney. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

Annotation: This book is part of a series of books by Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. In this particular book, the struggles between Greg (the "wimpy" kid) and his rocker brother are told. Greg is entering middle school and throughout the book, his troubles come to light. He is constantly pushed around by Rodrick (his brother) and his band friends. His best friend, Rowley, is a total pushover and his little brother is constantly getting in the way.

Genre: Realistic fiction, Comedy.

Grade Level: 4-8

Readers who will like this book: Pre-teens and early teens will be able to relate to this book and the problems Greg is faced with regarding school, siblings and parents.

Personal response: I used this book as a read aloud with my 8-year old daughter after she brought it home from her school library. I was a little hesitant at first but we both found the book funny and entertaining. It is an easy read for pre-teens because if the text vs. picture set-up and the "diary" quips from Greg. There were a few parts that I had to explain a little further to my daughter, but I think it helped that we read it together. I would rate this book as a 2, only because we read the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid last year and that one seemed to have a better story.

A question you would ask before reading: How many people are/were scared to start middle school? Why?

Reading Strategies Connection:
a.) Journals
b.) Students are asked to keep a journal or do a "journal" writing while reading a book. Journals allow children to explore deeper connections with the book and encourages personal, thoughtful engagement with the book. It may also help to bring out a students more creative side if they are asked to write from a different point of view, such as a characters.
c.) I think it would be fun for a student to journal about Diary of a Wimpy Kid, since the book is related to journaling itself. I would have the students either journal their experience that may relate to the ones occurring in the book at the moment or to choose a character from the book and journal from their point of view. This strategy will keep children attentive to the reading (since they have to continually express their thoughts on it and make connections) and it will also allow them to put a personal, creative spin on their response.