The Wonderful, Wimpy World of Jeff Kinney
If you are someone who likes funny books, chances are you have read or at least heard of the popular book series, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney. The books are about Greg Heffley, an American middle-school student, who shares his experiences with bullies, girls and sibling rivalry through hilarious stories and sketches. You may have also seen the movie that came out last year, and be anxiously waiting for the second one to come out soon.
What you may not know, however, is that Jeff is also the creator of a leading children’s online site called Poptropica.com, which has more than 75 million members, and counting. Kidsfrom around the world visit the site regularly to play games with each other, solve mysteries, read books, watch movies, and explore new places. Recently, Jeff brought together the best of both his worlds by creating a new section on Poptropica called Wimpy Wonderland. Visitors to the island can join all their favorite “Wimpy Kid” characters on a snow day adventure.
How It All Started
Jeff didn’t start off wanting to be an author, or even a game designer. He was born in 1971 and grew up in Maryland, United States, and dreamt of becoming a cartoonist one day. In college, he created a popular comic strip called “Igdoof” about a college freshman,which was published in the campus newspaper.
After college, he tried very hard to get it published in a national newspaper, but wasn’t successful. He then turned to his other hobby and got a job as a game designer at FunBrain.com, an educational site for children. That’s where he created Poptropica in 2007.
The idea for “Wimpy Kid” came to him back in 1998 when he realized that his particular style of journal writing, which was a combination of text and drawings, would make an interesting book. Jeff initially published the Wimpy Kid comic strip on the FunBrain.com site. It took him nine years to turn his idea into a published book, and in 2007 it became an instant hit with children around the world. The character of Greg Heffley is loosely based on his own childhood experiences.
Not So Wimpy After All
Jeff is still surprised by the success of the books because he says his goal was to publish just one book. He never imagined that his simple story would turn into a series that would stay on The New York Times' best-seller list for four consecutive years, and make him one of Time magazine's 100 "Most Influential People" in the world.
So far, 42 million "Wimpy Kid" books have been published worldwide, and translated into 40 languages. While his books are primarily for children, Jeff says he also writes for adults, who remember and laugh at their similar middle-school memories. In spite of being an author and a Web designer, he considers himself first and foremost a cartoonist.
Jeff’s success may have something to do with his work ethic. According to his boss at FunBrain, he does things over and over until he feels they are just right. He spends hours on a single word and days working on one comic strip or an animation!
Today, Jeff is a busy man between writing books, producing the “Wimpy Kid” movies, working on Poptropica, and being dad to two boys, Will, 8, and Grant, 5. In spite of all his success, his children remain his toughest critics. "My 5-year-old makes it clear to me that my books are not his favorites," Jeff says, laughing.
Diary of a wimpy is my favorite
omg
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WHO LIKES WIMPY WORLD????????????????????????
i love the wimpy kid books
they're the best
funny
love it!
me too aashikam
I love diary of a wimpy kid books.There funny
what doesnt make sense,is that in everybook he moves up a grade, and there are like 6 books. so he should have graduated. but he stays in middle school. and another thing, is that the kid cant stop growing. if they make every movie a book, at one point there going to have to get a new kid. or stop the series. lol i dont know WHAT there gonna do.
teehee. in the movie, he plays holly hills dad. (he is sitting next to her in the church)
5 children
I like the first movie. I can`t wait for the next one.
wimpy kid is good
i can't wait to the second movie of diary of wimpy kid
I have all the books.
i like the movie ive read all the books too.
I think that jeff kinney is awesome because he's written so many fabulous books
I can't wait to see it it looks soooo funny! my brother is taking me tomorrow i cant wait!
I LOVE his books!!!~
I love his books they're .... AWESOME!! I just wish the cartoons were used instead of real people... TOO BAD!!
What do you mean?
The books are really good. I don't have them myself, but whenever I go to my friend's house I always get my hands on one and don't look up until I'm done.
cant wait
cant wait for rodrick rules to come out
I have never read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which is weird because I read pretty much everything I get my hands on!
jeff kinney is awesome and terrific
I never knew the connection between 'Poptropica' and 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' until just now. I love solving all the mysteries in all the islands on Poptropica. About the Wimpy Kid series, it isn't one of my favorites, story wise but the cartoons are very creative and I love copying them down in my free time.
I read most of the books, and they were pretty good. I love poptropica! I didn't know he designed it.
i am waiting for the next movie to come out
yeah his books and movies are amazing
I have seen the movie i cant wait for the 2nd one to come out.. youre gonna get the cheese touchin.. lol :)!
I think this is a very cool article because i'm a big fan of the wimpy kid books
i loved all of his books.. not so much the movies though but still hope he comes out with a bunch of more books for us all to read
I loveee Jeff Kinney's books!
i love that the second movie is coming out i am so excited.
i think this article was awesome because i love jeff kinney because every book i read of his i love.
and i LOVE poptropica its cool
ME too, i like how they put comics in the daily pop.
I have read all of the books in his series 10 times.. that summer was filled with laughter
i love these books and even the movies are funny hahahhaaha they make me laugh out loud. i wish i could watch the movie every day and follow along with the books if i could
i love the books and i think they are funny. I want him to make a new book because he has only about five and i have read all of them and passed them all. i want a new one to read.
i have read all of his book n seen his movies
odd how the movie wasn't animated. Not many people have only one hair on their head, like in the books.
The books and movies r awesome! is he coming out with another book?
poptropica is pretty fun
oooh I can't wait for the 2nd movie to come out! I like all of the books:)
I cant wait for the second movie:0
well that was interesting!!!!!
i have all the books even the do it yourself
I have read all of the books and seen the movie and i own the movie now MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!! and i cant wait for for the new movie to come out