"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" author Jeff Kinney tells a kid reporter about his upcoming Tucson tour, how his attention deficit disorder launched his…
Jeff Kinney, author of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and “Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid” series, will be in Tucson for a drive-thru book event at Mostly Books on March 26.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to do a Zoom interview with Kinney, who said that he is looking forward to being in Arizona.
“Some of my happiest memories as a father have been going through Sedona ... and other parts of Arizona with my kids,” he says. He is looking forward to visiting again with his family.
Drawing has always been a passion.
Jeff Kinney
“I actually wanted to be a cartoonist, like a newspaper cartoonist,” Kinney says.
He liked cartoons like “Peanuts” and “Calvin and Hobbs” when he was young. He began drawing in school during class because he has attention deficit disorder. He said that his doodles and drawings helped him focus and do better in school.
He loved drawing, but as he got older he realized that his talent was more for cartoons than realistic art. When Kinney began “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” he thought he was writing for grown-ups, but when he submitted his books, the publishing house told him that he had written a children’s series.
Kinney shared that he collected about 750 jokes to help him with ideas for his book. This allows him to throw out about one-third or more. Kinney uses his life situations as inspiration, and he relates most to his character Greg, who is “not heroic” and just kind of an average kid in a middle-class neighborhood.
When I talked with Kinney about his new book, “Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories,” he shared that it took him only two months to write because writing as Rowley is much easier than writing as Greg in the “Wimpy Kid” books. The “Wimpy Kid” books typically take about nine months each to write.
I also asked why he decided that Rowley would not draw noses for his drawings in the “Awesome” books because I thought that was funny. He said he chose to give Rowley a younger feel than Greg. He also said that his brother never drew noses on his people and that annoyed Kinney, but it also gave him the idea.
I enjoyed talking with Kinney and found him to be an “awesome” adult to talk with about his life and books.
SOMEWHAT SPOOKY AND FUNNY STORIES
Kinney’s new book, “Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories,” was released March 16. This is the third book in the “Awesome Friendly” series, and it is spectacular. You’ll like it if you enjoy somewhat spooky and funny stories.
There are lots of fun short stories told from Rowley’s point of view. In my opinion, Rowley’s point of view is fun and exciting, like it is being told by one of your friends. The “Wimpy Kid” books are told from Greg’s point of view, and he seems to try to act older and more mature than Rowley.
“Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories” is unique because it has mini-stories inside the book, which is different from the other two “Awesome” books. All the spooky stories are not like each other — they all have their scary parts and funny parts.
My favorite spooky story is the first one in the book. Rowley starts growing hair all over his body and he does not know why. He tries to shave it but it comes back so he asks his parents, and they tell him that they are all werewolves.
When I interviewed Kinney, he said that his favorite story is one of the last stories about Greg creating a monster for his science-fair project. I highly recommend this book if you like thrills, scariness and humor.
