This is an excellent story and easy read for preteens and adults alike. The lead character's misadventures are hilarously funny gems with little morals tucked inside. I would recommend this to anyone who has a middle schooler at home. Also, Amazon delivered this item as promised, at a fair price, securely packed and in excellent condition. I will order future books through Amazon due to their superior service.

First book in the Wimpy Kid series.

Greg keeps a journal to record the events of his first year in middle school. He writes about getting put into teh gifted reading group, " I was pretty disappointed to find out I got put in the Gifted group, because that just means a lot of extra work."

Greg wonders about popularity and grades as he tries to figure out who he wants to be. His family doesn't help--his older brother is a creep and his younger brother tattles constantly. His parents, well, they are simply clueless. his best friend, Rowley, is not the sharpest crayon in the box and Greg is always trying, and failing, to explain the complicated rituals of adolescence. For instance, "I have told Rowley at least a billion times that now that we're in middle school, you're supposed to say 'hang out,' not 'play.' But no matter how many noogies I give him, he always forgets the next time.

The book is written on lined paper, with lots of funny little drawings, so it really feels like reading someone's journal. Greg's voice is fresh and funny.

My 10-year old daughter says " I loved this book because it was funny. I could not put it down. I can't wait to read the next one!"

WITH 4 CHILDREN, AGES 7 TO 13, A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES WERE SPENT IN NEAR SILENCE. ALL ENJOYED ESPECIALLY THE 12 AND 13 YEAR OLD BOYS. THE VOICE OF THE READER IS OBVIOUSLY A GROWN MAN (wish it was a youthful voice) BUT THE KIDS DIDN'T SEEM TO MIND.

Jeff Kinney took a simple idea and turned it into a hilarious book that kids and adults will find funny. Short passages are accompanied by stick people drawings that add a double punch of humor. Sometimes you'll laugh at the writing, sometimes at the hidden jokes, and many times at the choice of pictures. Diary of a Wimpy Kid will take you through one year in the life of well...a wimpy kid...his bully brother...and his semi-"special" friend Rowley.

As a 38-year old I found myself fondly remembering my own days of "wimpy kid-dom" and some of the similar situations that our hero ends up in. It's a fast read and you'll read this book with a smile on your face. Then do yourself a favor and pass it along to a child from 10-15 and have them read it.

My 9 year old son absolutely loves this book. He read it so quickly we bought the next book Roderick Rules. Can't go wrong with this book. My son was actually excited by reading and laughed through the whold thing. Very positve reading experience for a child who absolutley hated reading.

my 12 year old daughter chose this as a gift for a friend's birthday. She began to read it at the bookstore. I told her it was ok to finish it before giving it as a gift. We ended up keeping it and getting friend another copy!. She's now reading the second book and she's reading on a Saturday morning just for fun!! She said she wants to find other books by this author and is anxiously awaiting the next book in the series. may wonders never cease!

...like my son, let him/her try this book. My son loved it and actually looked forward to "read aloud" time instead of procrastinating. He found it quite funny, which helped, I'm sure. I'm still amazed.

Our son really likes this book. He has already read it three times in the last two weeks.

My fifth grader loves the Wimpy Kid series and until recently it was hard to get him to read anything but sports books and fact books. I appreciate any book that goes above and beyond to appeal to active boys who wouldn't ordinarily sit down and read independently.

My 12 year old son can't even be bribed to read. However, he chanced upon this book while visiting a friend over Christmas. He read the whole thing in a few days. I decided I had to check it out. I read it and I understood its appeal. It is funny, easy-to-read and fully-illustrated. I would actually read it again. But first I have to get my hands on my son's second Wimpy Kid book (which he received for his birthday)! Jeff Kinney certainly knows how to keep pre-teen boys reading!

This series is just plain funny! For anyone who has been through junior high, is in junior high, or is going to be in junior high - this is a fun, clean, dry look at the wacky things that can happen. My husband laughs out loud when he reads it and my 8 year-old nephew can't put it down.

I teach 3rd Grade. I noticed my kids were reading this book and decided to pick it up for myself. Wow, this book is just plain funny! Even kids who don't enjoy reading will enjoy this book.

The humor is a bit edgy for my 3rd Graders and would probably be a little more appropriate for 4th and above. There is a lot of sarcasm that would be missed by a struggling reader, but I am sure they would still enjoy the loose story.

My 8 year old son wanted this book. Good story, kids seem to love it! In an age where video games are taking over it's nice to have a book kids will read and enjoy!

This was a really good book. It is more for younger kids but even for the older ones (like me, a teen) it gives a lot of laughs. It portrays things that you would think would happen in grade school and puts them in perspective. It does not have a real plot, its just a book for laughs. I love the characters and the illustration. You can tell its from an elemantary school point of view. This book is great so buy it so you can laugh and maybe relive some of your own elementary memories.

Great book. Kept my kids quiet for three days. They read one, traded and read the other. Get both books, your kids will thank you for it! :)

I got this book for my 8 year old daughter. She enjoyed it so much that she had it read in 3 days. In her own words this book was "awesome, hysterical, and attention grabbing". If you have a child that isn't as interested in reading as you would like, I highly recommend this series of books. There are enough illustrations to keep their attention, and I haven't met a child yet who could put this book down once they started it.

Younger kids will love this, and anything that will get kids to read is great.

As an adult who loves children's and YA lit, I found the book to be intermittently amusing but -pictures aside- don't think it breaks any new ground, either in storytelling or originality. Not that every book has to be a groundbreaker but for me, the story lacked a certain spark. I found the situations like the school play and the difficulty with the parents a bit hackneyed and rote. But other parts of the book, like the giant snowball that tore up the sod in the lawn are perfect in capturing the trouble kids cause when they really don't mean it.

For those who did enjoy this book, I recommend they graduate to Sherman Alexie's "Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" that has a similar conceit (a diary with cartoons), but much more depth without sacrificing any of the enjoyment.

I bought it for my 5-year old daughter, it turned out I enjoyed reading it to her more than she enjoyed listening to my reading. I would recommend it to all the boys and their dads.

While I have to say that I heartily enjoyed this book, my only case against it is really in its marketing. I think the people that will get the most out of it are young men who have graduated high school and at the youngest, graduated junior high. While the novel is geared toward the age range of 12-13 year olds, I don't feel that they will benefit from the humor until they are older, solely on the fact that they are still experiencing these things first hand. At that age I think most of the amusing things about the book will soar right over their heads. While older readers who have survived that point in life, and have some sort of perspective on the whole thing will get a huge kick out of the ridiculous-ness of it all. I read it in a day (not that, that's a feat because most of it is illustrations) but I couldn't put it down. I was having a crap-tacular day at that because my car broke down and I wandered into town while I had it fixed. At the local bookshop I saw this collection on the display table and the title caught my eye. While leafing through it I found myself laughing out loud, and I went right up to the counter and bought it. It was hilarious and the artwork only furthered my laughter! It definitely made my situation much more tolerable and I now remember that day as a good one, despite my car trouble. I think any twenty-something will get the most out of this book and will find it really funny. Which reminds me, I have to get a copy of the Roderick Chronicles soon!

Our review is for the book called Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It was written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. The Genre is a graphic Novel, With comedy
Gregory Heffley is a wimpy kid. He has a little brother Manny and an older brother Rodrick. They both ruin everything for him. Gregory lives at his house and he goes to Middle School with his best friend Rowley. Gregory has a problem. He is a wimpy Kid. His only friend is Rowley. Not one girl likes him. His parents ,mom and dad, Make him watch Manny and do some chores and all that. So read and see if the problem gets solved.
If you are a wimp or nerd you still are important to your friends and family. You could always be cool in your own way. It is on our top 10 list because it is hilarious book. Anybody who reads it would laugh. So read and you will see.

I originally bought this book for a car trip for my 9-year-old son, and it quickly turned into "the book to be fought over" in the household, with my 10-year-old daughter wanting to read it, too!

Every time the book was set down, it quickly ended up with another reader. If you have a child who is a reluctant reader (they would rather be playing video games, but love books when you make them turn off the TV), then this is a perfect choice. My son even skipped dinner to finish the book!

By: Brian K.
Let me got something straight: This book is a JOURNAL, not a diary.
Greg Heffley is a middle school student trying to be popular, rich, stay best friends with Rowley, not get the cheese touch, and have fun.
With Greg and Rowley you learn about what it would be like to be a nothing in middle school even when you try hard. Like one time he thought it would be cool to chase kindergarteners around with a worm on a stick, only to get caught and blame it on Rowley. Now he's kicked off the only cool thing he's in, the safety patrol squad, and he lost his best friend.
This book is so funny and grabbing. It's like being strapped to a T.V. with Americas Home Funniest Videos on. The author made me feel like I was one of Greg's friends, right next to him all the way through this book. When I finished, I felt like it was summer break waiting for the next school year and the next book DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES.
This amazing novel is full with friendship, betrayal, and bullying. I would recommend it to people who like visual drawings, hilarious dialog, and a cool journal pace.

Son is 8 yrs old and has even gotten me to read this with him. a++++

How would you feel if your mom handed you a journal and told you to keep a diary, a DIARY all year. Greg Heffley didn't like it much either. But he keeps a journal, a journal not a diary, and best of all he keeps it in drawings. Greg has problems with everything from pickup truck driving teenagers to girls like his geeky friend Rowley over him. Greg doesn't much care for Rowley but still hangs out with him whenever he can only because Greg's Dad wont let him play videogames at his house. But when Greg does something unforgivable to Rowley and Rowley abandons him he realizes just how important having Rowley in his life is. Now he has to do something really important to try and win Rowley back and still find a way to make it into the coveted spot in the yearbook of class clown.

This book is the best book I have ever read. It's like reading somebody's real diary. I think it is a spendid, magnificent, outstanding, extraordinary book. If I could I would give it 100 stars!

My 8 year old son loves this book so much he has barely put it down since he got it yesterday. He chose to read it instead of playing video games (Wii), and even took it to bed with him last night. He can't wait to read the sequel!

Fantastic book. I bought it for my grandson who is in 7th grade and he loved it so much I bought the second book in the series. I read it too and was laughing ot loud. Highly recomended!

My eleven year old son handed me this book. I hugged him afterward. With few modifications I think this book could have been about MY youth. Several times I had to stop reading so I could laugh out loud.

While the story was mildly amusing I took issue with some of the attitudes of the main character. He mistreats his friend, expects him to take it without question, and even gets angry with his friend for not taking the fall for him at one point.

I understand that a lot of people cannot stomach potty humor, but at least the kids in Captain Underpants are not as bad as Greg.

I am considering getting the sequel just to see if Greg redeems himself at all, but I think I will put it lower on my list of books.

I bought this book for my son at Christmas (he's 9) he loved it. I would hear laughter coming out of his room everytime he read this book which is wonderful. It hard finding a book for him that keeps his interest so I'm glad he enjoyed this. I would recommend this book for all elementary aged kids, boys and girls. Most of the 4th graders in his school are reading this book and love it.

This book is the best for boy reluctant readers. My son who is 9 read this book with enthusiasm. It was the first book he read with gusto and enjoyment. He could not put it down. The style of the book with "hand printed type" and cartoon sketches breaks the page, making it easier to read and less overwhelming for slower readers. A definite recommendation for any 4th to 7th grader. It is very funny.

My 7-year-old daughter asked for this book, which has since been hugely enjoyed by my husband, my 10-year-old son, and now myself. Greg is pretty much an average middle-schooler, with a geeky best friend, an older brother who picks on him, and parents who frequently embarrass him. This book is hugely funny, gross enough to appeal to a kid's sense of humor, and wickedly on-target for an adult audience. With its line-drawing cartoons and hand-printed text style, it even looks like the notebook some kid dropped on his way to school (even moreso after it's been read under the covers at night, by flashlight, by all of the kids in my house). But even though it's laugh-out-loud entertainment, the kid in "Wimpy Kid" still seems like a real person, with a real kid's worries and mess-ups. (What if people find out the nickname his little brother calls him? What if his best friend stays mad at him? How can he get out of the school play?) Everybody in our family loved this book. When I brought the second installment home yesterday, it passed hands like a game of Hot Potato because everybody wanted to be the first to read it.

This book is the first book of the Wimpy serie, but I read the second one first and I knew I had to get the first one. This book has pictures, and it's funny. It's a good book for either elementary school (4-5th grades) or middle school or even college students ! It's a must for book worms!

And I haven't even read it yet (but I'll come back and add Mom's thoughts after I do that). But my son, 10 and in 4th Grade is NOT a reader. I've tried it all. Every series, theme, you-name-it it's been put in front of him and he won't read it book. He's an excellent reader, testing way above his grade, but he doesn't like.to.read. He picks Calvin & Hobbes and Garfield comics for his at-home reading time.

He mentioned this book because some boys at school like it. I immediately bought it hoping this would be *the* book.

It was. He came home today, picked it up out of the package, went upstairs and read the ENTIRE book in one sitting. All 217 pages. He then grabbed the second book and attempted to run off and read it (I grabbed it back as we're traveling this weekend and it's for the trip). This book is beating out the NCAA tournament with him.

Again, I'll be back to provide a real review, but if you're a mom like me, desperately searching for ANY book your son will read, buy it. You will not regret it!

The book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, is a personal favorite. It is a really fun book to read with your parents, friends, or siblings. I thought the book was a really, really funny.

I liked the drawings and the stories made me laugh out loud. I made my Mom read part of the book out loud to my class on guest reader day at school. She got into a little trouble for using the word "moron" in class.

I can't wait to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2- Roderick Rules.

- Ryan Goepfrich

When I started reading this book I couldn't put it down it was sooo great!!!

If you are trying to get your child interested in reading, this is a great book for BOYS AND GIRLS.

We first saw this book in the airport. A little boy of about 6 was reading it and would not put it down. He was totally engrossed. His parents started talking about the illustrations and the writing inside. We decided we should let our daughter read the book. Our DAUGHTER picked up the book and read it in a week. We would ask her if she understood it and she would tell us what was happening in detail. There were many times where she would giggle out loud and ENJOY the book. We just ordered the second one for her and she cannot wait to sit down to read it.

It's wonderful to see my 6 year old sit down and read a book and really enjoy the content because she wants to and not because she has to for school homework. Excellent!

Both my daughters (10 and 7) read through and totally enjoyed this book. It's a quick read, with the cartoon images, and captures so many cute moments of childhood.

I had read a good review about this book and wanted to give it to my 12 year old great nephew. As I skimmed through it, I found some really funny stuff that reminded me of my childhood thoughts. So I read it! Didn't take long, but it was quite funny and my great nephew thought so too!

My son first found the book in his school library and read it cover to cover in a couple of hours. He never put the book down. He asked for the second book and I purchased both books for him. He read this book all over again and then read book two. Excellent books! My son is 8.

I wanted to let everyone know that my 7yr old 2nd grader who loves the Captain Underpants series just LOVES this book! I checked it out from the Library just to see if he would even be interested. He loves to read comics and funny books and I thought why not try this and plus this would be his first novel. Well, I'm in the process of purchasing this book and the 2nd one for him. He read the whole thing in 1 day and wants a copy for himself to read over and over! He couldn't put it down and would run in and tell me all of the funny things that he read. I highly recommend this book. Thanks Jeff Kinney for an AWESOME book for kids. :0)

This book was hilarious.It can make anyone laugh.If you like to laugh then read this book.

If you haven't had a good laugh lately, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is your source for timeless humor.

There's a particular goofiness about boys in middle school that drives parents crazy but has to delight when considered from a distance such as through reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jeff Kinney captured that goofiness with a tongue-in-cheek irreverence that will amuse anyone reading this book.

This is a graphic novel, but not the slick sort that you see from Japan. Instead, Mr. Kinney imitates the style that a middle school boy with good printing skills might use in displaying this simulated diary in the form of Greg Heffley's journal.

Greg is a middle child as well as a middle schooler. His older brother Rodrick can't be bothered with Greg except when the temptation to torture occurs to Rodrick. His younger brother Manny is the apple of his parents' eyes and is spoiled rotten.

Greg has a few, simple needs to satisfy: Avoiding touching the cheese that's been on blacktop since the prior spring, not getting beaten up by bigger kids, playing his favorite video games (which his parents don't approve of), avoiding embarrassment, and getting credit for doing something right. Parents, teachers, fellow students, and fate conspire to thwart Greg. But Greg has one ace in the hole . . . his friend Rowley is even more of a loser than Greg is. And Greg exploits Rowley for all he's worth. The gags are often based on the results not turning out as Greg anticipated.

The book has many funny parts that will have you laughing out loud. Occasionally, Mr. Kinney goes over the top and employs too much self-satire. But the story is quickly rescued by going back into straight satire.

I derived special pleasure from the book by recounting the adventures of one of my sons and his best friend at this same age. That gave me many more things to laugh about.

I read this book in a couple of days. It's an easy read for an adult, and seems to be just the kind of book that might motivate a pre-teen into reading, as it's interesting, noting lots of things they might be currently going through in their lives, and it has pictures, lots! I highly recommend it.

The following review is written by my nine year old son:
This book is freakin' hilarious because everybody in this whole book was funny. The characters were very funny because they always did amusing stuff. Like when Greg, the main character, lied about being allergic to dairy. Thank you for writing this book Jeff Kinney and hurry up and write more!!!!!!!

The book, Diary of A Wimpy Kid was a great book of sarcasm. It was a little cartoon story. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend this book for a 8 to 10 year old. Just because it is a little immiture for a 13 and 14 year old. The book had just some words thatIdid not find funny. The book was a great book andIcant wait to read the next.

My son read this book in record time. He kept showing me the different pages to share with me how funny he thought it was. He told his best friend who ran out and got the book to read it too. No sooner did he finish it when we saw the part two version in the bookstore. He has already read that one too non-stop. I highy recommend it for young boys 7-9 years old.

This book was hilarious. It helps you get in the mindset of a middle schooler. So, parents if you forgot what it was like to be in middle school.. read it! I am studying to be a middle school teacher and this was a great way for me to get in the mindset of my soon to be students. I loved it! Very easy read!

If you are in middle school, this book would be hilarious because you just know it is true!

I enjoyed this book very much. Very amusing (I laughed out loud several times) and irreverant enough to suit even the most disaffected middle-schooler.

One of the things I liked about it is that there was no comeuppance at the end. There is not even a hint of the After School Special in this book, nor it's sequel. That's unusual enough in a children's book to be notable.

Greg is not the most upstanding or admirable character, it's true -- but he's fun and funny.