I'll liken the Wimpy Kid series to James Patterson or Danielle Steel-fantastic way to get someone to read, not something I'd fully recommend to a reader. However, the one major difference is that Greg Heffley experiences things that your average 5th grader does. These stories are believable. They're also catchy. I read the first three in this series over Thanksgiving break of 2009. Last year I was just as excited to go on the field trip to see the movie as were the 10 year olds that I accompanied. Even the boys that typically "hated" to read were fighting over who got custody of the classroom copies next, and I have terrific memories of seeing James and Giovanni clamor over one another in order to talk to me about these books.
There are, of course, valid arguments on either side of my major criticism of the language. While Greg lives the life of an average kid, he also talks like one. His first person narration using grossly incorrect grammar (the likes of "Me and Rowley went to gym class.") bothered me to the utmost throughout. It drives me to the brink thinking that legions of students will read this and it will reinforce their already atrocious speech. Gack.
Regardless, this is a fun quick read....and I'll continue to read the series.
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