It’s our annual announcement of the biggest graphic novel of the year!
Wimpy Kid #10 will be out on November 3rd and it will be called Old School…and it will sell millions of copies, just like all the Wimpy Kid books before it. The cover was revealed via Twitter:
The title and cover were also discussed in a webcast.
Many moons ago, the Beat was the venue for the new Wimpy Kid covert debut. It’s true!!! I can’t find the post now because it happened when Ned Stark was alive. But social media has improved a bit since then, and other people like book jacket reveals!
Kinney’s Wimpy Kid books have sold more than 120 million copes worldwide and are a certified phenomenon, and the biggest book series now being published. Kids can’t get enough of the Greg Heffley-eyed view of the world. And just to prove what a cool guy he is, instead of spending his millions on fast cars and liquor, author Kinney opening an indie bookstore in his hometown of Plainville, MASS
Indie bookselling may be financially risky, but Kinney has planned the nearly 3,000-sq.-ft. bookstore and cafe carefully. And he’s had a chance to observe many stores firsthand on his book tours. “An Unlikely Story allows me to play with the truth,” Kinney says, explaining the store’s name. “We’re going to have fun with fables and tall tales.” That includes a replica of a Quidditch match above the children’s section, and books that appear to be flying overhead elsewhere in the store.
During the construction, Kinney has been visiting the store at least twice a day. “It gives me a sense of satisfaction,” he says. Even more satisfying is the opportunity to bring a bookstore to his community, after so many new bookstores have closed, including one where he grew up in Fort Washington, Md. “When I was a kid, we had a bookstore in my town that sold new books and magazines. I visited a few times a week, and the books I purchased there had a huge impact on my life,” Kinney says. “And then one day, the bookstore was gone and a valuable asset to the community was lost.”
A few months ago, when Gangnam Style fever had kids ponying around the country, two baffled Fox News pinheads personalities debated the song’s appeal.
“I think what this fella Psy is tapping into…is the fact that people don’t want any meaning right now. The most popular music apparently is that without intelligible words…not reality, not feeling, not meaning.”
“So it means nothing…”
They never once considered that the song was in Korean and the gibberish they were hearing was indeed actual words in a different language, satirizing the wealthy Gangnam district of South Korea, an area obsessed with western culture.
From that mind-numbing discussion, they somehow segued into their perceived lack of meaning in children’s books.
Wait? What was that? No meaning in children’s books?! Oh yeah, the ignoramus commentator had a picture book rejected and was obviously still reeling from the sting.
“I had a little kids’ book I wrote; I sent it out to a few publishers. They bemoaned the fact…they said, gee, it seems like it has a message. I said, ‘Well, yeah, it’s about empowerment’. Well, books about messages right now aren’t selling.”
He then ridiculed WIMPY KID and OLIVIA, two of the best-selling children’s book series. (Probably because he didn’t think of them first.)
“Try to tell them about ‘courage’, that’s not going to be purchased by the great masses who now want not to be tapped on the heartstrings, if you will, but simply to be pushed toward ‘a good beat’.”
Darn straight, readers want a good beat. What they don’t want is to be beat over the head with a lesson you think they need to learn.
Message-driven picture books begin with the intention of teaching a life lesson, like how to have good manners. With the writer’s purpose being so righteous, the story can come across as preachy and self-important. Why don’t these books sell? Because they lack the one thing that kids really want: FUN. Think about it—children are being taught all day long—at home, at school, at places of worship. When they pick up a book, do you think they want to hear “remember to say please and thank you” yet again? If I were a kid, I’d shelve that book pronto. Kids want to be entertained.
Message-driven books are not subtle. They often contain the very phrase the writer intends to teach, like: “Just be nice and you’ll always have lots of friends!” This is the classic mistake of “telling” instead of “showing” with your words. It’s talking down to kids, it’s assuming they’re not intelligent creatures with limitless imaginations.
Not all books with messages are message-driven. In fact, the best books do contain messages, but they are subtly woven through a wondrous story rich in character, setting and action. Every good story contains a universal emotional truth—friendship, family, fitting in—that is slowly revealed through the main character’s journey. The character at the beginning of the book is not the same person by the end; they have been transformed. How have they changed? Within the answer lies the lesson. Character is paramount, not the message.
I’m going to leap upon my soapbox now. I believe children’s books should be fun-driven. If books are going to compete with computers, iProducts and video games, authors need to deliver an escape, a fantastical world where anything can and does happen. I write with fun in the forefront. I think back to my childhood and the things that I loved—like secret hideouts adults didn’t know existed. I was fascinated by Dahl’s chocolate factory and the fact that he chose a kid to run it. (I hope I didn’t spoil that for anyone. It has been almost 50 years since the book was released.) A kid in charge! Marvelous!
So let’s circle back—does DIARY OF A WIMPY KID have a message? It sure does. I can name a bunch: being yourself, persevering through difficult situations, being able to laugh at yourself. These are all important life lessons.
No one would call Jeff Kinney’s series “message-driven”, yet a lot of people mistake FUN books for being worthless teachers, for being meaningless. I beg to differ. (And I beg Fox News to get a clue.)
It’s time to do the exact opposite of writing message-driven books: assume kids are already smart as whips. (Believe me, they are.) A message-driven book isn’t going to teach them anything except to avoid reading. And that’s a lesson no one needs to learn!
. The Odd Squad, Book 1: Bully Bait Written & Illustrated by Michael Fry Hyperion Books 5 Stars . From Website: Nick is the shortest seventh-grader in the history of the world (he’s pretty sure), doesn’t fit in with any groups or clubs (who needs ’em?), and spends more time inside than outside his locker …
Whether you call it comics inspired or a comics hybrid, Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid series is one of the most successful book series being published with more than 75 million copies in print. Details on the seventh book have just been announced: it will be called “The Third Wheel” and will find Greg Heffley having even more adventures in middle school—adventures perhaps of a romantic nature, as the title might suggest.
The book is getting a 6.5 million copy print run—the largest of any book announced thus far this year.
A third Wimpy Kid movie will be released this August.
In a major press announcement, Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, reveals today the title, projected first printing, and cover of the seventh Diary of a Wimpy Kid book by Jeff Kinney. The Third Wheel will have the largest print run of any title in the series to date, with more than 6.5 million copies. It will be the largest printing of any book in 2012. The cover color is chocolate brown, which complements the red, blue, green, yellow, purple, and ice blue of the first six #1 bestselling books. In The Third Wheel, love is in the air—but what does that mean for Greg Heffley?
“Writing The Third Wheel has been a lot of fun because there’s so much humor to be mined in the world of middle school romance. When the dust settles at the end of the seventh book, the Wimpy universe will be changed in a way that will surprise fans of the series.”
Promotions for The Third Wheel begin at BookExpo 2012 on Tuesday, June 5, with a giant billboard for the book facing the Jacobs Javitz Center on 11th Avenue and giveaways of custom designed chocolate bars featuring the book cover. Author Jeff Kinney will be signing the first-ever Diary of a Wimpy Kid calendar, featuring original art by him, on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, from 4 to 5 p.m. Kinney and ABRAMS have also donated to the ABFFE/ABC auction, which takes place Wednesday, June 6, 2012. The highest bidder will win a trip to New York to walk in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Giant Helium Balloon.
The Third Wheel will follow the sales and publicity momentum of next month’s release of the new edition of the Wimpy Kid Movie Diary and the August 3 release of the next Diary of a Wimpy Kid major motion picture, Dog Days.
“This is the most anticipated book of the year, and we know that kids, fans, their caregivers, librarians, teachers, and friends will be clamoring for Jeff Kinney’s new book,” said Michael Jacobs, President and CEO of Abrams. “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, with more than 75 million copies in print worldwide, are the most successful books—for children or adults—out there. We believe that our laydown of The Third Wheel will make this holiday season a great one for booksellers and for kids.”
Books in the core Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney include Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2008), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2009), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2009), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth (2010), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
(2011). Jeff Kinney has also written and illustrated The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary.The series is a fixture on the USA Today bestseller list and the Wall Street Journal and Publish
I’m teaching a youth class for 9-11 year olds at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis this summer. The class is filling up, so if you know a kid who is interested, please sign ‘em up soon!
As a teacher I tend to draw from books other than my own, and this one is no exception.
Your Life is Hilarious: A Writing Class for “Wimpy” Kids*
Jeff Kinney, author and illustrator of the best-selling Wimpy Kid books, shows us how ordinary mishaps at home and school can be hilarious. In this weeklong class, we’ll look at scenes from the Wimpy Kid books (and others) for examples on how to find the funny in the familiar. Writers will practice creating their own comic scenes and leave with enough material for a funny story.
*Non-wimpy kids also welcome.
Sign up here.
Written By:
Charlotte Williams and Philip Stone
Children’s books sales outperformed the rest of the market in the first half of 2011, down just 1% year on year to £143m, due to blockbusting brands and the delay in children adopting digital content in this area.
According to Nielsen BookScan figures presented at yesterday’s Bookseller Children’s Conference, the total consumer market was down 3.5% year on year to 16th July. Across the entire TCM, fiction sales were down by 7% to £210m, with non-fiction sales down by 2% to £376m.
read more
We all know how much Leah loves Diary of a Wimpy Kid. She has now decided that she is Rodrick and we are to call her Rodrick. Every time she sees a white van, she says "A LODED DIPER VAN!"
We even had to make her this shirt:
LC is sprouting teeth like my garden sprouts weeds. And his teeth look like Rowley's (from Wimpy Kid series).
by Jeff Kinney
Amulet / Abrams 2009
The fourth book in the Wimpy Kid series continues with the misadventures of Greg Heffley trying to make it through the summer with as little effort and trauma as possible. But if that happened there'd be no book...
After the initial blast of the first Wimpy Kid book, and the subsequent popularity, I sort of let the series go as one of those things that's
THIS FALL . . . EVERYTHING CHANGES.
MORE THAN 5 MILLION COPIES OF
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE UGLY TRUTH,
BOOK 5 IN THE BLOCKBUSTER SERIES BY JEFF KINNEY,
TO BE PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTED BY AMULET BOOKS.
NATIONAL LAYDOWN IS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2010
FIRST-EVER BOX SET OFFERS NEW CONTENT FOR FANS
New York, NY, July 29, 2010—Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, reveals today in a major press announcement the title, first-printing quantity, and cover of the fifth Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. The Ugly Truth will have the largest first printing to date of any title in the series, with more than 5 million copies, making it one of the largest publishing releases of 2010 when it goes on sale Tuesday, November 9. The cover is purple, following the red, blue, green, and yellow of the first four #1 bestselling books, which are available together for the first time this September in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books, which features an original Rowley Jefferson cartoon. The Ugly Truth follows the sales and publicity momentum of the #1 bestseller The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary, a nonfiction book by Jeff Kinney published to coincide with the March 2010 release of the feature movie version of the first Wimpy Kid book. The Ugly Truth is a pivotal installment in the s
ZelnickMedia to acquire Alloy, Inc. (The new company plans to "build Alloy into a leading entertainment and media brand for the millennial generation," though Alloy is already off to a good start with titles like "Gossip Girl" and "The Vampire... Read the rest of this post
Last week the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie premiered and now there is talk of producing a second film. But how did we get here? It just seems like yesterday that we started work on the cover. Which was over 3 years ago now. The first time I ever heard anything about Diary of a Wimpy Kid was through a PW announcement informing us that Charles Kochman had acquired a book told in cartoons. It was the first time I had seen an announcement like that about a book I was going to be working on before working on it. I had yet to work with Charlie since he was an editor for the Abrams imprint and had yet to work on anything in the Children's Dept. Not knowing what lay ahead there was an air of excitement around this book from the day one. Charles Kochman took a moment last week to reflect back about the movie and how Wimpy Kid came to be.
Charles Kochman: It’s late in the afternoon on Sunday, February 26, 2006, and I’ve been working the New York Comic-Con since Friday. A young man walks up to the Abrams booth and we begin to talk about Mom’s Cancer, a Web comic we’d just published as a graphic novel that was starting to get a lot of attention. He then asks if we would ever consider an online comic that was written for younger readers. “If the material was right, sure,” I say. “I can’t see why not.” The man then hands me a 6 x 9 spiral-bound packet of eighteen pages. There’s a simple line drawing on the front and a title scrawled across the top, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I looked down at his proposal, smiled, then looked up, the eight year old in me thinking, Why wasn’t there something like this when I was a kid? I offer encouragement, leafing through the pages, and let him know I’d be in touch after I read it and looked at his Web site. The man walks away into the crowd and, as he told me later, called his brother and said, “I just met the guy who’s going to publish my book.” Little did he know, but as I watched him walk down the aisle of the Javitz Center that afternoon, I thought the same thing.
That night I went home, ate, and sorted through my stack of swag from three days at the con. Spread out on my bed were comics, books, posters, postcards, buttons, and proposals, each in its own pile. And then I unpacked Diary of a Wimpy Kid and read the first page and started to laugh. By the time I got to page seven and the Reading Group titles Einstein as a Child and Bink Says Boo, Jeff Kinney and Greg Heffley had won me over completely.
Query letter update: With my revision done (yay!), I’m back to working on my query letter story pitch. So far, I’ve got 17 versions, some similar with minor tweaks, some with more major differences. This is a process I started a couple weeks ago, and I did maybe four or five versions yesterday. Good news is, I think I’m finally in the right direction. A few more tweaks and I think I’ll be there. Fingers crossed.
Publishers Weekly put up a great article this week giving sales numbers of the biggest titles from 2009. (Thanks to Gregory for the link.) PW says series are still the biggest sellers, and all the usual suspects are there topping the list, Twilight, Percy Jackson, Wimpy Kid.
What’s wonderful is to see Aprilynne Pike’s Wings in the 100,000 copies on hardcover sold. Wings is her debut novel, and it’s great to see a debut novel do so well. Encouraging too. It’s also the first in a series, so expect to keep seeing them on this list.
The other intersting thing is in the hardcover backlist titles, which are mostly the older classics, like the Dr. Seuss titles and Golden Books’ everlasting The Poky Little Puppy. It’s wonderful that these books are still being celebrated in new generations. It’s something we should strive for with our own titles.
If you’re looking for books to read, this is a great way to find them.
Write On!
Okay all you Wimpy Kid fans; here is your chance to really be a wimpy kid and Wimp Yourself! This highly entertaining website allows you to try a number of different wimpy personas. Just to show you how successful it is, here's me:
And, if you know me, you know that this Marcy look-alike, is pretty accurate! All that's missing is a big pair of hoop earrings. And maybe a side parting. But, if it
Today we will be attending the premiere screening of DIARY OF A WIMPY KID at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York. I will admit I am kind of excited. Working on this series as been such a crazy ride and at times daunting. But the best thing that has come from it is our 'Wimpy family" here at ABRAMS. Charlie, Jason, Scott and Veronica, Jacquie, Anet, Michael and Jeff.
At the end of October 2009 Zachary Gordon and his mom Linda had a chance to visit the ABRAMS offices. We had a blast that day even though I can't really recall what happened. Besides a lot of juvenile behavior and jokes. We had met Zach and the other actors a few weeks before on set in Vancouver.
Here are a few pictures of a few members of the WIMPY team below
Zachary Gordon a.k.a. Greg Heffley visits my office
Charles
Kochman (
Executive Editor), Jason Well (
Publicist),
Zachary Gordon (Actor), Chad W.
Beckerman (Art Director)
Zach enjoys the comfort of my awesome chair
Click to play the WIMPY KID Cheese touch game.
......like, 3 or 4 or more times--all three books, as well as the on-line comic--and you're looking for something in the same vein. Then let me suggest Knucklehead, Jon Scieszka's autobiography. In this rather slim volume (and one guesses that there was so much more he could have included,) divided into bite-sized chapters just right for reluctant readers, Jon writes of his experience growing up
First off, this weekend I did a chapter-by-chapter analysis (with brief summary at top) of the 1949 and 1967 editions of Nancy Drew and The Clue of the Leaning Chimney over at Geek Buffet. Check it out!
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: New Girl Meg Cabot
There's nothing wrong with walking to school with your mom and dad on your first day. Except everything.Allie's back! She's settling into her new house and her new school, but nothing, of course, goes to plan. The big problem is Rosemary, the bully, who wants to kill Allie. And then Lady Serena Archibald gets really sick and might have her kittens too soon and they might not live! AND THEN HOW WILL ALLIE GET A CAT?! And then Grandma comes. Grandma's good at presents, but she isn't very nice.
Hilarious. Allie is an excellent heroine with a strong voice and a strong sense of self. If you liked the first, you'll like this one. I'm very much looking forward to
Best Friends And Drama Queens, which comes out in March. The plot sounds a lot like something Cabot describes happening to her in her contribution to
Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume and how
Blubber was really helpful. I hope see gives Judy Blume a shout-out in the book!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw Jeff Kinney
Greg's back! Huzzah! I managed to snag a copy of lunch, but it's been hard--the holds list on this is miles long, and it's ALL kids. Ever since this came out, I've had to deal with the crushed faces of children when I tell them where they are on the list.
Anyway, Greg's afraid his dad will send him (not Roderick, HIM) to Military School.
If you like Wimpy Kid, this books won't disappoint, I mean...
There was this book Dad used to read to me every night called 'The Giving Tree.' It was a really good book, but the back of it had a pictures of the author, this guy named Shel Silverstein.
But Shel Silverstein looks more like a burglar or a pirate than a guy who should be writing books for kids. Dad must have known that picture kind of freaked me out, because on night after I got out of bed, Dad said, 'IF YOU GET OUT OF BED AGAINST TONIGHT, YOU'LL PROBABLY RUN INTO SHEL SILVERSTEIN IN THE HALLWAY.'
That really did the trick. Ever since then, I STILL don't get out of bed at night, even if I really need to use the bathroom.How can you NOT love it?!
So today we have one book from the "way back files" and a book I just read.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney
Greg Heffley is the perfect 21st century every boy. A dorky best friend, a horrible older brother, an annoying little brother, and parents that mean well, but they're parents. Can you get any more embarrassing!?
Starting out the school year, Greg's mom makes him keep a journal in exchange for no longer having the scrub the toilets on Saturday mornings. (This is NOT a diary. It's a journal.) 75% hand-lettered prose, 25% comic, Greg's trials and tribulations will be a hit with girls and boys, heavy readers, and the most reluctant. Also, a sure hit for grown-ups remembering their own childhood.
I swear I went to school with Greg. I think I had crush on him at some point.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid started out as a webcomic on Funbrain, where
you can still read large chunks of Greg's adventures.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick RulesAnother school year, another journal. Only this year, Greg still has the cheese-touch. Also, he did something really embarrassing last summer, and older brother Roderick saw, so he's kinda Roderick's slave.
Roderick's band is always over playing their "music" and Manny (Greg's little brother) continues to make life difficult. It doesn't help that Rowley (Greg's best friend) is as dorky as ever.
Can't a guy catch a break? A FANTASTIC follow up to the first.
My favorite is the Wimpy Kid phenomenon. When the first one came out, I put it on display and it eventually got picked up. My favorite was when a 12-year-old boy came in and started leafing through it. I looked over a little while later, and he was sitting down, deeply engrossed. He read the whole thing in one sitting.
But now! With the second book? Hold lists out the wazoo! For both books! Kids have been waiting FOR-
ever (their word) to get their hands on this book. Does it just have great word-of-mouth with the kids? It's fantastic!
No surprise here. My 5th/6th grade discussion group met on Tuesday to discuss the two WK books, and one topic that came up was "Who would you cast to play Greg Heffley in a film version?" I'm dismayed to say that, other than Frankie Muniz, who's probably too old by now, I'd not heard of any of the actors they suggested!
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0 Comments on Zachary Gordon a.k.a. Greg Heffley visits as of 3/4/2010 7:35:00 AM
Rock on, Tara. I totally agree.
Bravo, Tara! Great post! A huge reason why I write children’s books is because I want to develop that love– that PASSION– for reading. Thanks for this!
I agree wholeheartedly. And I’m so glad you do what you do! Messagey books make me angry (there you go, messagey people, write a book that has the lines “Books are our friends. They shouldn’t make us angry.”) Bring on the FUN!
Preach, sister. Love this.
Agreed 100%
Excellent post, Tara!
Standing ovation! Well said!
We in the choir love this here sermon, Tara! Preach it!
Woo-hoo and Amen! Keep it up, darling! This is one to mark, to have handy when I don’t have the energy to respond to uninformed dribble. Thank you, thank you…
I have to disagree. I think the message that authors are getting is the story can’t have a message at all.
I have pretty strong messages and even the punchline states the message outright at the end – but they have a twist, are fun, and kids love them. I have received spontaneous applause. I had one little girl want ‘to marry me!’
Kids are grateful for the messages that they hear too little of. It is the message that their soul sings – but isn’t much reinforced in the world. It is about justice, right and wrong, fairness, compassion. The Berenstein Bears are about the preachiest books ever – and they were wildly successful. A friend just mentioned to me Thomas the Tank Engine – super messagy – but very popular. It is these books that truly speak to the child’s sense of who they WANT to be and how they want the world they live in to be.
If a positive message delivered to your children makes you angry – then there is something wrong – but not with the message. Granted, there are message books badly written -but that goes for all books of all kinds.
I think the message ought to be – books CAN have a message, they can and ought to teach us something, they ought to be elevating – they must also be fun, appealing, and thought-provoking. I don’t think the role of the artist is merely to entertain. I think it is to make us better people. And I think there is room for the merely entertaining – but NOT at the exclusion of the elevating.
Fox News? Oh, don’t even go there. No, really, don’t go there.
I’m glad I missed that broadcast. I would have been leaping outta my seat, yelling at the T.V.
I love your focus on FUN. And I think I needed to be reminded to remember what I loved when I was a kid (digging holes so deep and so wide, five of us could jump into it, with one kid still at surface level to pull us all out).