While his father wished he was the type to go outside and play more, as oppose to his lifestyle of staying inside and playing video games. Greg also has a best friend, Rowley Jefferson. Greg believes Rowley to be too immature for middle school, but Greg is still determined the raise their popularity at school. Greg's mind is preoccupied with the things expected from a middle school student. He is worried about getting the right seat, avoiding the social humiliation of the cheese touch and being popular. To start his plan of becoming more popular, Greg suggests that Rowley and he join the Wrestling Club. Greg's stay with the club is unfortunately short-lived, as he loses a match to Fregley, a boy considered to be the school nerd. He also seats next to Fregley in class, which is another of his plans that fell through. The cheese touch is similar to what young children call having the "cooties". There was a piece of cheese left on the basketball court which got soft and moldy over time. One student made the mistake of touching the piece of moldy cheese one day, which started the harsh tradition of the cheese touch.
Created by an online game developer, he has starred in a Web book of the same name on since May 2004. This print version is just as engaging. Kinney does a masterful job of making the mundane life of boys on the brink of adolescence hilarious. Greg is a conflicted soul: he wants to do the right thing, but the constant quest for status and girls seems to undermine his every effort. His attempts to prove his worthiness in the popularity race (he estimates he's currently ranked 52nd or 53rd) are constantly foiled by well-meaning parents, a younger and older brother, and nerdy friends. While Greg is not the most principled protagonist, it is his very obliviousness to his faults that makes him such an appealing hero. Kinney's background as a cartoonist is apparent in this hybrid book that falls somewhere between traditional prose and graphic novel. It offers some of the same adventures as the Web book, but there are enough new subplots to entertain Funbrain followers. This version is more pared down, and the pace moves quickly.
Kinney: I was inspired to write by a Benjamin Franklin quote: "Well done is better than well said. " But I always encourage kids to "create something great, " because the tools to create something original and find an audience are available to them like never before. Q: What was your favorite year in school, and why? Kinney: Fifth grade was my favorite year. I had a great teacher, Mrs. Norton, who encouraged me to be funny and challenged me to be a better artist and joke-teller than I was. I liked it that she didn't coddle me. Q: Kids now ask for a book that is "like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, " and with this series you've created a whole new subset of books for young readers--how does it feel to be the person behind such massive book enjoyment, reaching reluctant readers, and spawning any number of titles that aspire to be "the next Wimpy Kid? " Kinney: I'm happy that kids are reading. I think graphical books reach kids who might otherwise see books as work. Books should be fun! Grade 5–8—Greg Heffley has actually been on the scene for more than two years.
Greg's journal entry reads, "I do feel a little bad, because it looked like it was gonna take a long time to clean up. But on the bright side, Gramma is retired, so she probably didn't have anything planned for today anyway. " Kinney ably skewers familiar aspects of junior high life, from dealing with the mysteries of what makes someone popular to the trauma of a "wrestling unit" in gym class. His print debut should keep readers in stitches, eagerly anticipating Greg's further adventures. Download: Novels No Comment
I'm incredibly self-conscious so appearing on-camera was a real stretch for me. Q: In 2009 Time magazine named you as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World--what's the first thing you did after you found out? Kinney: I thought it was a practical joke, so I tried to track down the source of the joke. I eventually reached a voicemail of a reporter who said they worked for Time, and at that point I thought it was just a well-planned practical joke. It took me a while to realize it was for real. It was a big honor, but I don't take it very seriously. I'm the fourth most influential person in my own house. Q: Would you ever consider making Wimpy Kid into a newspaper comic strip or creating another one? Do you have any favorite comic strips that you currently read? Kinney: I've considered it. I set out to become a newspaper cartoonist but failed to break in. But I like the freedom books give me, so it would be tough to cram my ideas into three or four panels. Q: What is (or could be) you motto in life?