Looking for a great book to read with your kids? The New Richmond Branch Family Book Club is currently reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. We encourage parents to read to, read with or be read to by their elementary aged children. And this title is super for that!

Like many others I had heard a great bit about the book (Kinney attributes his success to word of mouth recommendations from one kid to another), and decided it was time to pick up a copy. Upon first flip through I was stoked! It’s a cute little book written in journal form, with faux handwriting and cute little comic illustrations throughout. Awesome! The story follows the adventures (and often the misadventures) of Greg Heffley, who is just starting middle school. Greg's mom is making him write a journal, to record his 'feelings.' He thinks this is lame, but is willing to do so (so that later when he's famous, he won't have to bother telling people about his early days). Everyday Greg writes about the life of a regular 6th grader. School bullies, friends that don't understand what it takes to be popular, a family that sabotages his every attempt, horrible classes and a constant grounding from his video games give Greg plenty to write about in what is definitely not a diary. Unlike most juvenile fiction characters Greg is simply a kid. He’s flawed and funny, easy to relate to and understandable. Kids love Greg because they can see themselves in him. (Parents love him for the same reason, but don’t often admit it!)

The amazing thing about Wimpy Kid is that its hard proof that there will always be a demand for traditional printed books. Originally released in 2004, on the website Funbrain.com (where Kinney was working as a game designer), as an attempt to get kids to visit the website during their summer break, the digital version of Diary was issued one entry at a time, like a real journal or blog. Even with the success on a children's educational website, Kinney still didn't intend the book (which took almost 10 years to write) to be for kids. Instead he wanted to write a story that adults could look back on, like their own childhoods, with a sense of the irony of it all (think The Wonder Years and Calvin and Hobbs all rolled up in one with text in the middle).

Even with his story out there for the world to see digitally, demand for the story in traditional book form was so great that Kinney has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for 41 weeks as of November 1, 2009 (that's just for the original book!) and now is at the head of a phenomenon that has swept libraries, bookstores and schools around the world. Sequels, do-it-yourself diaries, movie deals, you name it and Wimpy Kid is doing it!

Pick up a copy and join us on Tuesday, February 23 at 5:30 to discuss why this is your new favorite book!