As a reader, it’s hard for me to understand a person who doesn’t like to read. For me, reading is the ultimate activity. For this reason it’s irks me to no end that my son does not enjoy reading. I’ve come to the conclusion that some kids are natural readers and others aren’t!
However, there are a few books that he WILL read without complaint and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney falls into that category. I had to read it myself to see what the fuss was all about.
My Thoughts:
As I was reading the book, the first thing that I noticed was the format. It’s a diary, and let’s face it, reading someone’s diary is a lot of fun. The other thing that I noticed right away is that Kinney has a really good grasp of what it’s like to be a kid. This kid being Greg Heffley, a sort of wimpy, nondescript kid that is just trying to get through the day-to-day stuff that kids go through.
I laughed out loud in some places because much of what happens in the book, has happened to my son. The references to soccer were so similar to my son’s experiences with soccer that I had to go back and re-read that section to see if what I was reading was actually written, or if I somehow imagined it.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. This book happens to be book #3 in the series. For more info on Jeff Kinney and the other books in the series, check out this website. As I said, my kid loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series so much that he just submitted an audition clip to play the lead in the upcoming Twentieth Century Fox live-action movie adaptation. Details for that are on the website too!
I received this book from Jason and Laura over at Abrams Books For Young Readers/Amulet Books. Thank you Jason and Laura!
Book Chatter 
This sounds like a fun book Ti–Thanks for the review. I feel your frustration, because my daughter is also not a reader. I’ve tried several different things to get her excited about reading but nothing has worked yet. Either they want to or not I guess…bummer!
My 13 year old has loved these books-but he is what you would call a natural reader and will read just about anything! My 16 year old son, not so much! I am so obsessed with reading that I must have a book if I a find myself eating alone, or when I go to the bathroom, and especially if I am int he car waiting to pick a kid up. How can a person not like reading? Got me.*smiles*Kim
My son is anxiously awaiting this book. We just ordered it through his class Scholastic book order. He wants me to read the series as well and he put the first book on my nightstand over the weekend. I started it over the weekend and we’ve had some interesting discussions about the book. He just loves it that I am reading the books he loves. Good luck to your son on his audition for the movie version!
Very cool that your son wants to audition for the live-action film! Who knows, maybe that will draw him in 🙂My youngest shows signs of not being a reader … he’s 4 1/2 and very rarely sits for a story (sigh).The other kids love this series, especially that the Scotch tape on the cover feels real (it’s the little things in life …)
This is a favorite series in Sophia’s class! She’s read them all several times now.
Your son may surprise you and come around some day. This book looks like so much fun.
As a young reader author, I’m envious of the great following the Wimpy Kid Diary books have. But, also grateful because the books are inspiring so many more boys and girls to read. I’ve heard nothing but postive comments. Maryhttp://www.cynthiasattic.blogspot.com
My daughter has the complete series and absolutely loved them. She just finished this one a couple of days ago, and she’s working on reviews for all 3. I haven’t read them, but she’s be reading on the couch and burst out laughing and tell me about the story.–Anna< HREF="http://diaryofaneccentric.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">Diary of an Eccentric<>