50 Fun Facts About Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Which hobby project does Greg's dad keep working on in Diary of a Wimpy Kid?

A Civil War battlefield in miniature is his pride: he declares the room it sits in off-limits to the children and sneaks away from family film nights to work on it.

In the fourth Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, what name does the dog Greg's dad brings home end up with?

Sweetie is short for Sweetheart, a name Greg cannot stand; the dog causes so much trouble over the summer that Greg's dad ends up giving him away to Gramma.

On which website did Diary of a Wimpy Kid first appear, as daily online entries in 2004-05?

Funbrain ran the story in daily entries from September 2004 to June 2005; it drew about 20 million views, and readers' requests for a printed version led to the 2007 book.

At which 2006 event did Kinney show Diary of a Wimpy Kid to the editor who published it?

New York Comic Con, then in its very first year, is where Kinney showed his samples to an Abrams editor in February 2006; the first book followed in 2007 and was an instant bestseller.

What is the name of Greg Heffley's best friend?

Rowley is cheerful and childish, which embarrasses Greg; when a game Greg invents leaves him in a cast, the girls' sympathy for Rowley makes Greg jealous.

In the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, what is the curse of the mouldy playground cheese called?

The Cheese Touch makes its holder an outcast until it is passed on; at the end Greg takes the blame for the missing cheese to protect his best friend, and is stuck with it himself.

Which instrument does Greg's older brother Rodrick play in his band in Diary of a Wimpy Kid?

Drums: Rodrick is his heavy-metal band's founder and drummer, and when he is grounded their dad cuts the punishment short just to stop the daily practice at home.

What is the name of Rodrick Heffley's heavy-metal band?

Löded Diper plays the school talent show in Rodrick Rules, hoping a tape of the set will win a record deal; the recording is ruined because the boys' mother talks over it.

What is the name of Greg Heffley's spoiled toddler brother?

Manny is three and gets away with things Greg is punished for, such as drawing on a bedroom door; twins Connor and Owen Fielding shared the role in the first three live-action films.

Which comic strip do Greg and his best friend create in the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book?

Zoo-Wee Mama! starts as a joint effort; Greg drops it to draw his own cartoon, and his friend later lands the school paper's cartoonist job with it and takes all the credit.

Which part does Greg land in his school's Wizard of Oz play in the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book?

A tree, a part Greg picks so he can pelt Dorothy with apples; she is played by Patty Farrell, who got him in trouble over a test, and on the night he is too nervous to sing.

Which student organisation does Greg join in the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, only to be thrown out?

The Safety Patrol drops Greg after he chases kindergartners with a worm and lets his best friend take the blame; the friend, suspended by mistake, is reinstated and promoted.

Greg's school, unnamed for 17 books, ends No Brainer with which name?

Larry Mack Junior Middle is its third name in one book: revealed as Larry Mack Middle, it sells its naming rights and becomes 1-800-DED-BUGS Middle School, then takes the name of the first Larry Mack's son, who pays to reopen it.

In Rodrick Rules, which play-money scheme is invented to make Greg and his brother get along?

Mom Bucks can be traded in for real cash; Greg finds identical play money at a friend's house and smuggles it home, and the scheme collapses when his brother tries to cash in a fortune.

In Rodrick Rules, where does Greg's big brother lock him while throwing a secret house party?

The basement is where Greg spends the party, sent down for chairs and then locked in; the secret holds for weeks until a photo gives it away, and Greg is punished too, as an 'accomplice'.

In The Last Straw, Greg's dad threatens to send him to which military academy for the summer?

Spag Union is where a neighbourhood troublemaker was straightened out, which gives Greg's dad the idea; he relents after Greg accidentally saves him from embarrassment at a party.

Which popular girl does Greg spend The Last Straw trying to impress?

Holly Hills finally speaks to him at the roller rink, only to mistake him for the weirdest boy in school; Greg loses interest on the spot and declares he is done with girls.

What traps the Heffleys at home for days in the sixth Diary of a Wimpy Kid book?

A blizzard snows in everyone but Greg's dad, who is stuck at a hotel; the power fails, and Greg later finds it was switched off for every room except his little brother's.

In Hard Luck, Greg starts making all his decisions using what?

A Magic 8 Ball turns up on Easter, just after Greg's best friend has ditched him for a girlfriend; he lets it decide everything until he drops it during a test he was using it to cheat on.

Which relative's fourth wedding makes Greg miss a popular kid's party in The Ugly Truth?

Uncle Gary is marrying for the fourth time, and Greg is demoted to assistant flower boy; he later learns he dodged a bullet, as the party's host only wanted younger kids as servants.

Which deranged farmer is the subject of campfire rumours in Old School?

Silas Scratch turns out to be a hoax: Greg's dad invented the crazed farmer years earlier to scare other campers away from a hideout he had found, and Greg decides to keep the legend going.

What kind of film do Greg and his best friend try to make with gummy worms in Double Down?

A horror movie called 'Night of the Night Crawlers' starts when Greg, hunting for paper towels to hide a chocolate mess, finds a bag of gummy worms; the shoot falls apart once the family pig starts eating them.

In The Getaway, the Heffleys skip Christmas to fly to which resort, where Greg's parents honeymooned?

Isla de Corales has changed since the honeymoon: the fun parts are now adults-only, the family claims the wrong suitcase, and Greg meets an iguana, then a tarantula in his slipper.

The Meltdown, published in 2018, centres on a neighbourhood war fought with what?

Snowballs fly when the kids of Upper and Lower Surrey Street build forts and go to war, yet the book opens on a freakishly hot January day with Greg fretting about climate change.

In Wrecking Ball, whose death leaves the inheritance Greg's mom spends on a bigger kitchen?

Great Aunt Reba's money goes on a kitchen extension that exposes wasps and mice, then has to be torn down for standing too close to the neighbours; the Heffleys come close to moving away.

Which team sport does Greg reluctantly sign up for in Big Shot?

Basketball comes only after a disastrous school Sports Day; in one crucial game Greg's mom trades him to the opposing team as a 'secret weapon', and his fluke last-second shot wins it.

In No Brainer, falling test scores bring which retired principal back to run Greg's school?

Mr. Bottoms replaces the sacked Mrs. Mancy and launches gimmicks such as the High Flyers Club, then a paid 'Platinum' tier; he ends up handing the job to Greg for a day.

Which Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, the twentieth, arrived in October 2025?

Partypooper arrived on 21 October 2025; in it Greg's family forgets his birthday, and he treats the party they throw to make up for it as a chance to maximise his haul of presents.

About how many Diary of a Wimpy Kid books had been sold worldwide by 2020?

250 million copies by 2020, for a story that began as a free web comic whose readers had to ask for a printed version.

Who played Greg Heffley in the 2010 live-action Diary of a Wimpy Kid film and its two sequels?

Zachary Gordon played Greg three times in three years; by the third film the cast was outgrowing middle school, so the next adaptation, five years on, started again with new actors.

Which 2012 live-action Diary of a Wimpy Kid film blended two of the books into one story?

Dog Days took its summer plot from the fourth book and its crush and military-school threads from The Last Straw; it was billed as the last live-action film, as the cast had outgrown their roles.

The 2017 film The Long Haul recast every Heffley and provoked which fan hashtag?

#NotMyRodrick took aim at Charlie Wright, the new big brother, for looking nothing like Devon Bostick from the first three films; Wright answered his critics in a video years later.

In the 2017 film The Long Haul, what humiliating internet nickname does Greg pick up at Corny's restaurant?

Diaper Hands is born when Greg dives into a ball pit after his little brother and surfaces with a nappy stuck to his hand; onlookers film his panic, and the clip goes viral.

Which streaming service released the animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid reboot on 3 December 2021?

Disney+ inherited the project when Disney bought 21st Century Fox, home of the live-action films; Kinney wrote the screenplay and produced it himself.

Which Diary of a Wimpy Kid book became the third animated film, a 'Christmas' special, in December 2023?

Cabin Fever reached the screen as Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever, a project Kinney had first planned as a television special for Fox about a decade earlier.

Which online adventure game created by Jeff Kinney features Wimpy Wonderland and Wimpy Boardwalk islands?

Poptropica was Kinney's creation as a game designer before his books made him famous; it launched in 2007 and had more than 75 million registered users by 2012.

In which state was Jeff Kinney, creator of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, born and raised?

Maryland is home: Kinney grew up in Fort Washington, a suburb of Washington, D.C., studied at the state university, and only moved to New England in 1995.

What bookstore and café did Jeff Kinney and his wife open in Plainville, Massachusetts in 2015?

An Unlikely Story opened in May 2015 in the town the Kinneys had called home since 2002; it serves his pet cause, getting children to spend time reading rather than on screens.

What was the name of Kinney's college comic strip in his university's student paper, The Diamondback?

Igdoof was a campus hit in the early 1990s, but no syndicate would take it after college, and that rejection is what set its creator sketching a wimpy kid instead.

Which nickname does Greg Heffley's little brother call him, to his lasting embarrassment?

Bubby began as a toddler's failed attempt to say 'brother'; Greg hates it so much that when it is shouted at the school play he pretends it was meant for another boy.

In 2009 Time magazine honoured Jeff Kinney by placing him on which of its annual lists?

The 100 most influential people list included him in April 2009, a striking honour for a man who, by his own account, never set out to be a children's author at all.

Which 2019 Diary of a Wimpy Kid spin-off is narrated by Greg's best friend?

Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid starts as the friend's own diary, until Greg talks him into making it Greg's biography instead; two more 'Awesome Friendly' books followed.

Which video game is Greg Heffley hooked on in the early Diary of a Wimpy Kid books?

Twisted Wizard is what Greg wants for Christmas in the first book; his great-uncle's promising parcel turns out to hold a large photograph of the uncle himself.

What is the name of the weird kid at Greg's school with a secret 'freckle' and questionable hygiene?

Fregley unsettles everyone on Greg's street, yet in Hard Luck he briefly becomes a lunchroom star when classmates discover he can 'chew' food with his belly button.

In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, what does Greg insist his diary should be called instead?

A journal is what Greg demands it be called, for fear of being caught with a book marked 'diary'; he adds that he is only writing it to hand to reporters once he is famous.

The first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book went on sale in 2007 on which day of the year?

April Fools' Day, 1 April 2007, was the date on the hardcover, three years after the story began as a free web comic; it was an instant bestseller.

Which actress played Angie, a character invented for the 2010 Diary of a Wimpy Kid film?

Chloë Grace Moretz played Angie Steadman, a seventh-grader who keeps apart from her classmates to 'survive' middle school; Kick-Ass, released the same year, made her a star.

In the 2017 film The Long Haul, the Heffleys' road trip is to celebrate whose 90th birthday?

Meemaw's party in Indianapolis is where the trip ends, with Greg arriving in a runaway boat that sails over her garden wall and lands in the swimming pool.

Which ancient language was the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book translated into in 2015?

Latin: Monsignor Daniel Gallagher, the Vatican specialist who put the Pope's tweets into Latin, translated it as 'Commentarii de Inepto Puero', coining words for 'video games' and 'heavy metal'.

In Hard Luck, what had Greg's late great-grandmother hidden inside a plastic Easter egg?

Her diamond ring, an heirloom worth a fortune: the relatives hunt high and low for it, and when Greg finally finds the egg he hides the ring rather than see it split the family.