Jeff Kinney

Jeff Kinney is an kid's book author and internet publisher. He is mostly known as the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series, but many kids also know the game website Poptropica, which Jeff created.

Where did Jeff Kinney grow up?

Jeff Kinney was born on February 19, 1971 in Fort Washington, Maryland. He attended the University of Maryland where he wrote and illustrated a cartoon for the school newspaper called Igdoof. This is when Jeff realized he wanted to be a cartoonist.

How did he come up with the Wimpy Kid Series?

Jeff had not been writing much and hadn't been pursing his goal of becoming a cartoonist, so he decided to start writing a journal to force himself to write. He liked the way the pictures and words worked together telling the story of his life in the journal and thought it would work to tell a fictional kid's story. Writing Diary of a Wimpy Kid didn't happen overnight, though. Kinney worked on it for six years before he first published it online on his website funbrain.com. It still took a few more years for the printed version to come out in 2007. It quickly became a very popular kid's book and hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list.

What are the Wimpy Kid books?

The Wimpy Kid books use a unique combination of words and illustrations. There are lots of illustrations that are key to the story, but not quite as many as the average comic book. The books tell a very funny story about a middle school kid named Greg and all the things he goes through in school and life growing up. As Jeff Kinney has said, Greg is not the most likeable kid, but as the main character he can grow over time. Certainly watching and reading about Greg's struggles and growth is hilarious.

List of Jeff Kinney books

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2008)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (2008)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2009)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2009)
• The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary (2010)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth (2010)

• The first book has over 1000 illustrations.
• Jeff says he is a slow illustrator and writer.
• He has a full-time job working for an internet publishing company.
• Jeff has two sons of his own.
• Both of the first two books have been made into movies.

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