Talking with wimpy kid author Jeff Kinney

Newsday (MCT) - Children's author Jeff Kinney may not have the name recognition J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer enjoy, but his character Greg Heffley does.

Ask a fourth- to sixth-grader, and he'll tell you that Greg is the "Wimpy Kid" in the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series. The mischievous Greg's schemes are always backfiring.

Kinney's "Wimpy" stories have been praised by teachers and parents for enticing so-called "reluctant readers" to pick up a book. They're written in the form of a diary _ the text is in a boy's handwriting _ broken up by cartoons.

The first book, which came out in 2007, was No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list for children's chapter books until it was knocked into second place by "Wimpy Kid No. 2" last year. The latest installment, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw" (Amulet, $12.95), was released this month. Newsday interviewed Kinney, 37, by phone in Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife, Julie, and sons Will, 6, and Grant, 3.

Question: How does it feel to get e-mails from teachers and parents describing how their "reluctant readers" took a flashlight under the covers to finish your books?

Answer: I'd never heard the term. I thought it was a huge coincidence. I said, "Look, they used the exact same two words." I didn't realize there was a whole category. This is a code word for "boys." It's a joy to know that kids are using the books as a "gateway drug" to better reading.

Q: Why do you think the books appeal to "reluctant readers"?

A: Readers who aren't strong readers, they need that visual break in between text. And it's funny. I work really hard at the jokes, and I feel like the humor is worthy of the kids. It's not lazy. I sit there and I think and think and think. Sometimes I sit four or five hours and not a single joke. It's hard work.

Q: Who is your favorite character?

A: Rowley. He's Greg's best friend. He's a little bit of a doofus, and Greg is really annoyed by him. But he's a pure kid, he's a good kid and he's innocent, while Greg has already been tainted by the world in a way Rowley hasn't. He brings into sharp relief Greg's shortcomings.

Q: You once called Greg "morally bankrupt." Is he really that bad?

A: I've actually regretted saying that. He's flawed in an ordinary sort of way. All of the humor in the book comes from Greg's flaws. I like that he's imperfect.

Q: Do you worry about Greg being a bad influence on kids?

A: I worry about it a little bit. I don't think Greg does anything that the average kid wouldn't do. In the same way kids would see Bart Simpson spray-painting a wall and think, "Maybe that's funny, but that's not what I'm going to do." I try to keep the books lesson-free. First and foremost, they're supposed to be funny.

Q: Your first book was red, the second blue and the third one is green. What color will the next book be?

A: Kids seem to be fascinated by what the next color is going to be. When I do a book signing, the first question is almost always the color of the next book. They applaud when I tell them green. I think they wager on it _ maybe there's a line in Vegas.

___

© 2009, Newsday.