Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #2)

by Jeff Kinney

Overview

The highly anticipated sequel to the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling book!

Secrets have a way of getting out, especially when a diary is involved.

Whatever you do, don’t ask Greg Heffley how he spent his summer vacation, because he definitely doesn’t want to talk about it.

As Greg enters the new school year, he’s eager to put the past three months behind him . . . and one event in particular.

Unfortunately for Greg, his older brother, Rodrick, knows all about the incident Greg wants to keep under wraps. But secrets have a way of getting out . . . especially when a diary is involved.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules chronicles Greg’s attempts to navigate the hazards of middle school, impress the girls, steer clear of the school talent show, and most important, keep his secret safe.

F&P level: T

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810994737
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	02/01/2008
Series:	Diary of A Wimpy Kid
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.78(w) x 8.06(h) x 0.86(d)
Lexile:	910L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and five-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book. Jeff has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He is also the creator of Poptropica, which was named one of Time magazine’s 50 Best Websites. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England in 1995. Jeff lives with his wife and two sons in Plainville, Massachusetts, where he owns a bookstore, An Unlikely Story.

Hometown:

Southern Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

February 19, 1971

Place of Birth:

Maryland

Education:

University of Maryland

Website:

http://www.wimpykid.com/

Editorial Reviews

Add a diary with an embarrassing summer secret and then stir with two brothers and you have the essential recipe of Rodrick Rules, already a hit installment in Jeff Kinney's cunningly clever Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. At the center of stew is Rodrick's younger brother Greg who is attempting ever so valiantly to somehow survive middle school with his dignity intact. This story of peer problems and adolescent hijinks gains new legs this month with the March 25th release of a comedy film based on the book.

The voice is pitch-perfect and the action recognizably elementary, and not too mean.
—The New York Times

Julie Just

Kinney's junior-high diarist returns to chronicle another year's worth of comic moments in this riotous sequel. Once again, school-related drama constitutes a good portion of Greg's subject matter, from an ongoing correspondence with a pen pal ("I'm pretty sure 'aquaintance' doesn't have a 'c' in it. You really need to work on your English," Greg replies to the French student's polite introduction) to mastering book reports by writing "exactly what the teacher wants to hear" ("There were a bunch of hard words in this book, but I looked them up in the dictionary so now I know what they mean"). As in the previous book, cartoons form part of the narrative, corroborating (or disproving) Greg's statements. He claims that kids with last names at the start of the alphabet are smartest, and a side-by-side comparison of prim über-nerd Alex Aruda and gap-toothed Christopher Ziegel drives the point home. Additionally, Kinney fleshes out the often testy relationships between Greg and his slacker older sibling, Rodrick, and his little brother, Manny (when Greg gets mad at Manny for shoving a cookie in his video game system, the toddler protests, "I'm ownwy thwee!" and offers a ball of tinfoil with toothpicks shoved through to apologize). The hilarious interplay between text and cartoons and the keen familial observations that set Diary of a Wimpy Kidapart are just as evident in this outing, and are just as likely to keep readers in stitches. Ages 8-up. (Feb.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Gr 4-8- Hapless and hilarious Greg Heffley returns with another diary full of the minor irritations, major disasters, and occasional triumphs of a wimpy boy's middle school life. Kinney combines hand-written text with comical cartoons to present a character who is self-centered, sneaky, and dishonest, but also occasionally insightful and always very funny. Older brother Rodrick is his primary nemesis this time, partly because he threatens to spill Greg's embarrassing secret to the whole world. A nerdy best friend, a little brother who gets away with everything, and a bunch of clueless adults add significantly to Greg's problems. Readers, of course, will note that most of the narrator's troubles are self-inflicted, as when he wraps himself in toilet paper to avoid hypothermia in the boys' bathroom, does a disastrous job of pet-sitting, or decides to "wing it" for his school report on "The Amazing Moose." He's a character that readers can laugh at and empathize with at the same time. The line drawings that appear on every page play a large part in bringing Greg's world to life, providing humorous characterizations and details not mentioned in words. They also extend the appeal of the book to readers who are still a few years away from middle school themselves. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams, 2007) has been wildly popular, and this sequel should be an equally big hit with reluctant readers, especially boys, and anyone looking for a funny book.-Steven Engelfried, Multnomah County Library, OR

Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

In a second set of entries-of a planned three, all first published in somewhat different form online in installments-slacker diarist Greg starts a new school year. After a miserable summer of avoiding swim-team practice by hiding out in the bathroom (and having to wrap himself in toilet paper to keep from freezing), he finally passes on the dreaded "cheese touch" (a form of cooties) to an unsuspecting new classmate, then stumbles through another semester of pranks and mishaps. On the domestic front, his ongoing wars with older brother Rodrick, would-be drummer in a would-be metal band called Loded Diper, share center stage with their mother's generally futile parenting strategies. As before, the text, which is done in a legible hand-lettered-style font, is liberally interspersed with funny line drawings, many of which feature punch lines in speech balloons. Though even less likable that Junie B. Jones, Greg is (well, generally) at least not actively malicious, and so often is he the victim of circumstance or his own schemes gone awry that readers can't help but feel empathy. This reasonably self-contained installment closes with a truce between the siblings. A temporary one, more than likely. (Illustrated fiction. 9-11)

Kirkus Reviews