Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Endlich berühmt! Gregs Filmtagebuch

Rate this book
The first "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" movie opened on March 19, 2010, and earned over $75 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful films of the year. With "The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary," author Jeff Kinney shared his Hollywood experience on the set and explained to readers how a major motion picture gets made. That was just the beginning of the story. Now, in this revised and expanded edition, Jeff Kinney fills in the rest of the moviemaking process with more inside stories, new artwork, and exclusive images. Also included is a special sneak peek at "Rodrick Rules," the new movie coming in March 2011. This revised and expanded edition of "The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary" is the perfect companion to the bestselling series.

A NEWER, REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION OF THIS BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE, The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary (DOG DAYS EDITION), ISBN 978-1419706424. INCLUDES 32 NEW PAGES ABOUT THE THIRD WIMPY KID MOVIE, DOG DAYS, PLUS AN ALL-NEW COVER ILLUSTRATION.

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

2768 people are currently reading
17744 people want to read

About the author

Jeff Kinney

403 books17.9k followers
Jeff Kinney is an author of children's books including Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. Jeff was born in College Park, Maryland, in 1971 where he created a comic strip called "Igdoof."He also created the children's website 'Poptropica'.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
15,441 (56%)
4 stars
5,071 (18%)
3 stars
3,999 (14%)
2 stars
1,759 (6%)
1 star
1,261 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 699 reviews
Profile Image for Archit.
826 reviews3,200 followers
October 8, 2020


There's one more book!



Having a wimpy kid book is gold dust these days with the 11th one yet to hit stores.

The book is a total riot with Jeff explaining all the pains that went into creating the hilarious movie of our troll-protagonist. If you had always wanted to know the inner secret of film making, you are not alone.

Finally, here we get a sneak peak as to how, what, when and how much conspired to make this diary a full fledged Hollywood flick!

From the casting to shooting locations to editing out the unfortunate ones - everything that goes into making of a movie (or rather movies. Well, 3 of those!).

12 reviews
April 19, 2011
There are some characters in my story like some of my friends and family like Manny. Manny is Greg’s annoying little brother. Payton is the same way. Payton is annoying, cranky, stubborn, grouchy, selfish, and gets everything he wants. He gets all of the attention and I get none. Rowley is kind of like Keenan in some ways but not a lot. Rowley is funny, energetic, very weird, and don’t forget girly. Keenan is funny, energetic, weird, funny to watch, and does mentally insane things and tricks that none of us would even dare to do. But if there isn’t a thing that they don’t have in common is that Keenan is not girly! He is the exact more extreme opposite! Roderick is Greg’s dangerous older brother. Like Roderick my older brother is dangerous, mean, nasty, does things he isn’t supposed to, breaks the rules, doesn’t care, and has no respect for anything or anyone but himself.
If there is one thing that me and Greg have in common is that we both hate our brothers and are embarrassed of some of our family. This book was pretty good. It was very informative and cool. I liked reading it and if you want to learn how they made this movie read this book.
Profile Image for Mya.
1,502 reviews59 followers
June 19, 2018
It was okay. The movie was better. I would not re-read though.
Profile Image for Mahsa.
74 reviews49 followers
January 22, 2016
I had been told that this book isn't worth reading at all, but then I thought I'm gonna keep all the books of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", so why not give it a shot??
Then I started reading it and can't say how much I enjoyed this book!! Since I'm a big fan and I've watched all its movies, it was really interesting to know what happened behind the scenes!
You know, how they choose actors, how they put the scenes together and other cool stuff that I didn't even know!
And I thought wow!! Writing a book is hard, but making a movie is even harder and more time consuming!
This was the last book I had from this series. Waiting eagerly for the 10th book. ^_^
Profile Image for رزی - Woman, Life, Liberty.
339 reviews119 followers
May 24, 2021
من عاشقتم که، بچه چلمن جان❤❤

پیشنهاد می‌کنم بعد از خوندن کتاب‌های مجموعه بچه چلمن فیلم‌هاش رو ببینید {فقط سه تای اول} و بعد این کتاب رو بخونید. پروسه‌ی ساختن فیلم‌ها رو توضیح داده، و این لابه‌لا هنوز طنزِ گوگولیِ چلمنش هست! فکر نمی‌کردم این‌قدر برای ساختن فیلم حساسیت به کار برده بشه، و این‌قدر باحال و در عین حال خسته‌کننده باشه. دلم هالیوود می‌خواد!
کتاب شامل پشت صحنه‌ها، استوری‌بردهای کارگردان، عکس‌های رنگی از بازیگران و لوازم و حتی دست‌نوشته‌های بازیگرها و شوخی‌هاشون می‌شه. عکس‌هایی از تبدیل نقاشی‌های کتاب به فیلم هست، و نکات ریز و کوچیکی که برای منِ طرفدار خیلی ارزشمند بودن. مثلا می‌دونستید خود جف کینی، نویسند‌ی کتاب‌ها، توی فیلم دوم در نقش پدر هالی وایساده؟ *_*
خلاصه که قلب و ستاره و رنگین‌کمون بهت، ای چلمن جان.
Profile Image for mackenzie.
84 reviews48 followers
February 26, 2024
ngl I forgot this even existed until today 😂 I used to be obsessed with this when I was a kid. I actually still have this book laying around somewhere lmao
1 review
January 14, 2018
The first part was good but the second and third were not

The author did a good job describing the making of the first movie but did not put any effort at all into describing the second and third movies
Profile Image for Greta is Erikasbuddy.
856 reviews27 followers
October 21, 2010
This was one neat-o book!! I adored it and if your kid is a fan of the Wimpy Kid diaries then I guarantee you they will also get a kick at the behind-the scenes info.



My son is really into the Wimpy Kid books. I think he was either in 3rd or 4th grade when he started reading them (5 or 4 years ago). One day he brought home a book that wasn't his nor was it a library book. It was the first Wimpy Kid book and his teacher let him bring it home to read over the weekend. I can't tell you how many times he brought that book home.



Over the years he has told me about a boy named Greg, Rowley, and Roderick. And it amazes me to this day how he can get so excited about a new book coming out. THAT!! Is what makes a book great!



It's really hard to bond with a NOW 13 year old boy. I mean... what on earth can be more uncool then having a conversation with your mom? Yeah... exactly!!



So, being the uncool portion of this tale... I'm very thankful for Wimpy Kid books and even more thankful for the movie.



WHY?



Because that forces my son to sit in the same room as me for a bit over an hour... and afterwards he told me all the differences in the book and the movie. Oww!! BONDING!!



This book is all about how the movie was made, what scenes from the book were used, how the kids were coached, how they found the kids, where they filmed,.... it's just has EVERYTHING!!



It even tells you minor things like why Greg (played by a kid named Zach) wears such tight shirts... it's to show how SMALL he is.



Why that's brilliant!!



I don't know about you but I remember starting 6th grade as this tiny shrimp in a class full of tall, pimply kids. I mean... where did these kids come from? Just like Greg and Rowley... I hadn't grown an inch between 5th and 6th grade. (nor did my son lolz which might be the reason he loves this books so much)



It's a really fun read ;)



My favorite line was: The constant shifting in his (Greg's) interests tells you something about Greg. He's got a short attention span and is always moving on to the next thing.



That seriously spoke to me lolz....



oh look!! Something shiny!
Profile Image for Mary Ann.
1,485 reviews315 followers
March 19, 2010
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid is one of the most popular books at our school library, and it's no surprise that many kids are excited about the upcoming movie opening March 19th. The kids are lining up to borrow a new book: The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary.

This movie-tie in goes beyond the simple repackaging, and is a fresh look at what it's like to make a movie. Starting with "A Wimp Is Born", Kinney tells the story of how this story and movie came to be. You'll see photographs, script pages, storyboard sketches, costume designs, and original art by Jeff Kinney. Instead of following Greg's life, like the other books do, this new book follows the movie making process. Kids will like dipping into different sections, or reading it straight through. The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary is the perfect companion for fans of this series.

I had a lot of fun reading sample script pages, seeing how movies are really written. As Kinney writes, "Cartooning is the art of boiling something down to its simplest parts, but in a movie, a director is working on a much bigger canvas and needs to 'fill out the frame' with lots of detail." (p. 98). It was fun to see how different scenes were developed, and others were added.

Kids who have been reviewing this for me (librarian smiles - kids lining up to read a new book!) - have been marking their favorite spots. Here are a few:

* Casting roles of Greg's friends. Kids really liked seeing sketches from the cartoons in the book, next to pictures of the actors who were cast for different roles.

* Comparing comics from the book to scenes from the movie: Kids liked seeing how simple sketches in the book are flushed out in photos from the movie.

* Special effects: Kids had fun seeing how visual effects were added to a silicone piece of cheese to make it look like the stinkiest piece of cheese possible.

* Fake newspaper report: Kids had fun seeing mock-ups of the Westmore Middle School newspaper showing Patty wrestling (and trouncing) Greg.

This book will be enjoyed by kids who like the Wimpy Kid series, and especially by kids who are interested in making movies. A definite hit!
Profile Image for Книжни Криле.
3,601 reviews202 followers
May 31, 2019
„Кинодневникът на един дръндьо” обаче НЕ Е стандартната мейкинг книга! Всъщност, не се сещам за друга хроника по създаването на филмова поредица, която да е предадена по подобен начин. Представете си, че Джеф Кини е използвал възможността около заснемането на първите три (от общо четирите до момента) филма, за да се навърта покрай снимачния екип и актьорския състав, но вместо просто да се шматка ухилен по снимачната площадка, е впрегнал отново чувството си за хумор и творческата си енергия, за да разкаже за всичко това в стила на книжките за Дръндьото. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...
Profile Image for Erick Lopez.
22 reviews1 follower
May 14, 2015
I liked this book a lot because it was about the movies instead of the story line. I found it interesting because I didn't know how Greg got popular enough to be in motion pictures. I recommend this to everyone. Trust me it will all make sense once you read it.
40 reviews3 followers
March 4, 2016
I really like this book because it talks about how they did the movie.This book is very interesting. I recommend this book to my classmates.
11 reviews1 follower
March 21, 2014
I thought that this book was filled with information. It is about making a thought into a book and then into a movie first they talk about casting and then they keep telling the audience about all of the steps to making the movie. It also informs us about the life's of the actors outside the movie and how they have a connection with the character. It also tells you how they made the characters that were pretty much stick figures into real people. I think that this book is for anyone who is a fan of the diary of a wimpy series or anyone who wants to learn how a movie is made. I loved this book because it had so much info. It was even better because I have seen the movie many times and I remembered some of the seems they were talking about. That is why I liked this book.
Profile Image for Randall.
37 reviews1 follower
January 24, 2015
If you like to find out where stuff comes from this book if for you.In the book it talks about behind the scene stuff.Like how they went about picking the right characters for the roles.Even how they put scenes together.I liked how they explained what they did in the movie.If you want to be a director I recommend this book to you.This book has also 10 others in the series,
3 reviews2 followers
April 22, 2015
understand it very well.
8 reviews2 followers
February 25, 2019
I actually wanted to rate the book 4.5 ⭐️s because there were a few things I didn't understand. Otherwise I would
give it 5⭐️s
Profile Image for isaac .
6 reviews5 followers
February 17, 2017
I expected it to be a real story instead of all of the actors in it.
13 reviews
April 7, 2025
Interesting reading about the creation of a film. While the series is obviously for people quite a bit younger than me, I wish the target audience for this book was a few years older than it is. I learned some fun DoaWK facts in this one!

Highlight of the book was the 5 previously unseen by me Zoo Wee Mama comics!
Profile Image for Ezekiel.
10 reviews
June 11, 2025
Warning this is a behind the scenes book but it does contain some scenes from the movie. watch the movie first
Profile Image for Natalia S..
4 reviews
November 14, 2014
I've seen both of the diary of a wimpy kid movies and I've never noticed any of the animated things they used for
The movie. This book showed me a lot of stuff they've done In the movie. If you wanna know about the props they used in the movie I recommend this book. I've always wondered how they got those actors for the movie and this book gave me the answers. I kinda wanna be a background person now because you get payed. I also never knew that background people had to wait a long time.. If you read this book you'd know why.
38 reviews5 followers
March 3, 2016
The book is about how they decided to pick the actors of the movie and how long it toke to make the movie and the actors life. I like the book a little bit but like there was some parts that don't fit in the book like there was 7 pages about pictures I wish they talked more about the movie than just pictures. I recommend this book to a 5 grader because I think they like a book that is funny and talks about how they got to so many places for the movie
1 review1 follower
October 19, 2016
The title of this book is called the wimpy kid movie diary. The author is Jeff Kinney. This book was about how they got the diary of a wimpy kid book into a movie. They also tell you who is playing in the movie and who is playing in the heffley family. I gave this book a five star because it is a very good book. It tells you a lot about what happened in the book by detail.i would recommend this book because they do the stuff that kids do in school and it could remind you how your child hood is.
2 reviews1 follower
Read
November 7, 2016
Greg heffly aslo know as zack Gordon was introduced to be the main person for a movie. This book talks about how the book and movie we both made and how they moved it from 2-D to 3-D. My favorite part was when they show the proses of making the movie. Will they be successful in creating the movie. I would recommend this book to anybody that likes humor and who like to se the process of things.
Profile Image for Sinan.
19 reviews2 followers
January 24, 2011
This book was funny and very informational about the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. I cant believe it took this much time to plan the movie. I havent seen the movie yet but I bet its AWESOME! I recommend this book to 2nd to 5th graders if you love the movie!
36 reviews
October 28, 2015
I like this book because it showed you how its not easy to make a movie and lets you have second thoughts about becoming an actress.I also recommend this book to every single person who would want to become an actor or a t.v star.
Profile Image for Ravi Gangwani.
211 reviews108 followers
December 25, 2015
I haven't seen the movie but after reading this book I'll go watch it now.
Wimpy kid has always remain for me returning of my childhood.
What I liked about this book how much film-makers take while detailing a movie.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 699 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.