On February 28, 2009, I hosted a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" at the Bucyrus Public Library. There were 36 participants in attendance, a good mix of both boys and girls!
As the participants arrived, each was given a nametag. I used an Ellison die shaped like a house for this program. Everyone gathered in a group as a biography of Jeff Kinney was shared. Participants were thrilled to know that more books in the series are planned and to find out that Fox 2000 has picked up an option to make a live-action movie that will include the first three books.
Once the biography was concluded, trivia questions were read. The group proved to be absolute scholars on the series, as they answered question after question!
Once this was done, participants could choose the following craft stations:
WORM ON A STICK CRAFT
In the series, Rowley, who is Greg's best friend, is falsely accused of chasing kindergarteners with a worm on a stick, which proves to really be Greg with his coat over his head. Participants colored and cut out a worm shape and then glued it to a large craft stick.
DESIGN YOUR DREAM HOUSE
This activity was taken from activity guide available online for the third book in the series, The Last Straw. On the left hand side of the page is a small drawing of Greg Heffley's dream house, complete with indoor pool, bowling alley, and go-kart track! On the right hand side, participants got to design their own dream homes.
IT'S THE CHEESE TOUCH!
In the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Darnell Washington falls and brushes the moldy cheese that's been lying on the basketball court with his finger, thus creating "The Cheese Touch". Participants got to create their own pieces of moldy cheese by coloring and cutting out a cheese pattern and then adding arms, legs, and a face to it.
RULES FOR YOUR FAMILY"
This activity was also taken from The Last Straw activity guide. On the left-hand size of the page are listed 4 rules for the Heffley family. Participants were challenged to come up with four rules of their own for their families. We compiled these on a board. Some of our favorites were:
Tacos every day for dinner!
Video games are always allowed!
Don't make me eat green beans!
Steak for dinner every night!
Let me sleep in every day!
Dessert with every meal!
Don't kill youself or burn the house down when Mom and Dad aren't there! (my personal favorite!)
Don't wake me up on weekends until 9:00 a.m.
Participants were also treated to snacks, which consisted of juice pouches, cookies, pretzels, and, since the Cheese Touch plays such an important part in the books, cheese-flavored popcorn.
Two copies of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book were also purchased and given away as door prizes.
I have also developed a read-alike list and did an in-house display of the books listed. This display was up in our Children's Room for the month preceding the program. Fliers advertising the program were sent to all area elementary and middle schools.
As I mentioned above, there is an activity guide available on-line that goes along with the latest book, The Last Straw. Some of the activities included in it could be used to enhance your program.
