40 Fun Facts About Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down

Double Down opens with Greg Heffley convinced that his whole life is secretly what?

A reality TV show is Greg's theory: everyone around him, his own family included, is an actor or a robot. He even suspects the ads run whenever he takes a bathroom break.

Which sweet treat plays the killer creatures in the amateur horror movie Greg Heffley shoots in Double Down?

Gummy worms give Greg the whole idea: he finds a stash while fetching paper towels and plans a film called Night of the Night Crawlers. The family pet later eats his props.

Which instrument does Greg Heffley take up in Double Down so he can join the school band before Halloween?

French horn is the instrument Greg settles on, and his parents end up buying one because every rental is taken. His dad makes him promise to practise every night first.

Which aggressive birds chase Greg Heffley and Rowley to school in Double Down and later invade the yard mid-film?

Geese stop in Greg's town for a few days each year on their way south, and this flock is unusually fierce. His dad even arms himself just to check the mail.

Which unusual Heffley family pet gobbles up Greg's entire contest prize in Double Down and is then violently sick?

A pig has lived with the Heffleys since Manny won it at a fair in The Long Haul. It eats every last piece of the prize, and it is on the way to the vet when it throws up.

Greg Heffley and Rowley Jefferson get into a Halloween party in Double Down by sharing which costume?

Two-headed monster is the costume that gets Greg through the door, because only Rowley had an invitation. It backfires when Rowley needs the bathroom and they have to leave early.

In Double Down, new acquaintance Maddox Selsam accuses Greg Heffley of stealing one of his what?

Lego bricks fill Maddox's bedroom, including a whole city, but Greg may only touch the leftovers bin. Greg is searched before he is allowed to go home.

The Spineticklers horror books that give Greg Heffley nightmares in Double Down are a spoof of which real series?

Goosebumps is the clear target: the Spineticklers books are numbered horror tales with titles like My Teacher Is a Cannibal. Greg's mom would rather he read something more challenging.

What prize does Greg Heffley win in his school's balloon-launching contest in Double Down?

Candy corn, a huge jar of it, goes to the student whose balloon travels farthest. Most of the balloons snag on a new tower beside the school field, so Greg's is one of the few to get away.

Convinced that gaming is rotting his brain, Greg Heffley's mom pushes him in Double Down to explore what?

His creative side is what Greg's mom wants him to find, so the book follows him through a school band, a reading list and a home movie. Each attempt lands him in fresh trouble.

What does Greg Heffley's mom bring to the wild Halloween party in Double Down, to the boys' annoyance?

Homemade games, taken from the Halloween issue of a family magazine, turn out to be a hit with most of the guests. The boys blame Greg afterwards for ruining the party.

At the school book fair in Double Down, Greg Heffley upsets his mom by spending her money on what?

Novelty toys, among them a panda-shaped eraser and a glow-in-the-dark calculator, are all Greg brings home. His mom makes him promise to swap them for actual reading material.

In Double Down, Greg Heffley's mom buys ten copies of a pricey anthology because it printed his what?

A poem called My Silly Summer, written in third grade, made Greg feel like a real writer. Then he learned the anthology printed every entry it was sent and charged eighty dollars a copy.

On the cover of Double Down, what is tipping Greg Heffley off balance on a staircase?

His backpack, stuffed to bursting, is pulling Greg over on the stairs. It echoes the first book's cover, where the load on his shoulders leaves him slouching.

After the movie shoot goes wrong at the end of Double Down, what does Rowley Jefferson gain, to Greg's annoyance?

Local news fame comes Rowley's way after a camera crew catches the chaos outside the Heffley house. He never mentions Greg, who is stuck at home clearing up the mess.

In Double Down, Mariana Mendoza invites only which section of the school band to her Halloween party?

Woodwind players alone make the guest list, which leaves Greg out even though he joined the band purely to be invited. Rowley is in the right section, so Greg plans to tag along.

In Double Down, Greg Heffley's mom tells him which relative is always watching over him from heaven?

Nana died when Greg was little. The thought unsettles him: she only knew him as a small child who was often rude to her, and he would like some privacy.

Double Down debuted at No. 1 on which newspaper's best-seller list, ahead of a Michael Connelly thriller?

USA Today had Double Down on top in its first week, ahead of a Harry Bosch novel released the same day. The previous Wimpy Kid book had beaten the same thriller writer a year earlier.

Which Wimpy Kid book, sending the Heffleys to a tropical resort for the holidays, came straight after Double Down?

The Getaway arrived in November 2017 as book twelve, trading a Halloween at home for a family flight to the sun.

Double Down was America's second-best-selling print book of 2016, behind a play script co-written by which author?

J.K. Rowling's script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child outsold it almost four to one. Double Down sold more than 1.1 million print copies in its first two months.

In Double Down, Greg Heffley and many classmates write a report on which mysterious Spineticklers author?

I.M. Spooky is so secretive that even the author note in his own paperbacks says almost nothing about him. Greg's mom suspects the name hides a whole team of writers.

Where does a panicked Rowley Jefferson end up after bolting from the Heffley house at the end of Double Down?

Up a tree is where Rowley has fled by the time Greg's dad pulls in, moments after a basement cabinet toppled onto the two boys. He ran out wearing little more than a towel.

In Double Down, Greg Heffley tests his theory that his dad is a robot by soaking him with what?

A water hose was his way of proving that the people around him were machines. His dad turned out to be human, and Greg was grounded for a week.

In Double Down, what weighs down Greg Heffley's balloon so it drifts under the tower that snags most others?

The attached letter was so heavy that his balloon rose more slowly than the others, slipped beneath the tower and kept going. A boy in the next town found it.

In Double Down, Maddox Selsam spots Greg Heffley's balloon from his window while practising which instrument?

Violin practice is one of the few pastimes Maddox is allowed, since his mother bans television and sweets. When he first sees Greg playing on a computer, he gets wildly overexcited.

In Double Down, what does Greg Heffley's mom call her system of paper slips for handing out chores?

The Grab Bag is an idea she lifted from a family magazine while busy with her college course. One slip Greg pulls out says to polish the silverware, which he rates the worst job of all.

In Double Down, which fake chore does Rodrick Heffley slip into the family's chore draw for himself?

Take a nap was one of Rodrick's own slips, along with eating ice cream. Their mom cleared his additions out before Greg's punishment began, so Greg drew only real jobs.

On the night of the band concert in Double Down, where does Greg Heffley end up locked in?

The music room door locks behind Greg after bandmate Jake McGough treads on his heel and he stops to fix his shoe. His dad assumes he skipped the performance on purpose.

In Double Down, Greg Heffley calls Rowley for replacements after eating his mom's off-limits supply of what?

Chocolate chips were out of bounds, so Greg asks Rowley to bring more before he gets into trouble. The replacements melt and leave a mess for him to clean up.

In the horror script Greg Heffley writes in Double Down, where do the creatures first attack the husband?

In the shower, the creatures come pouring out of the pipes. By the time the husband reaches the kitchen to warn his wife, they have already got her.

In Double Down, Greg Heffley and Rowley fetch which Halloween mask from the basement to frighten off some birds?

A wolf mask that Rodrick once wore for Halloween is their plan for clearing the yard. Fetching it sets off a chain of accidents that brings the whole shoot to a halt.

Which noisy Halloween decoration startles Rowley in the Heffley basement near the end of Double Down?

A plastic witch goes off without warning, and the fright sends a cabinet crashing down on both boys. Greg spends the following days sorting and cleaning what fell.

In Double Down, kids try to revive the Cheese Touch with a new version named after which lunch meat?

Roast beef got its own Touch after someone sneaked a slice onto the court at recess. It never had the same effect as the Cheese, so the craze fizzled out.

In Double Down, Greg Heffley pretends he is being bullied so he can avoid eating which packed-lunch item?

An apple from his mom keeps turning up in Greg's lunch, and he would rather invent a bully than eat it. Lying, and getting caught at it, runs through the whole story.

In Double Down, Rodrick Heffley warns Greg that something on the basement stairs will catch him by the what?

Ankles are the target of the stair-dwelling creature Rodrick invents. Greg believes it enough to send little brother Manny down first, just to be safe.

In a Double Down flashback, Greg Heffley joins the Champs, a speech group for kids who struggle with which sound?

R was the sound the Champs practised twice a week in the library. A private tutor fixed Greg's problem, but he kept faking it to stay in the group until he slipped up.

After reading horror books in Double Down, Greg Heffley dreams that the townsfolk hunt him for growing what?

A tail is the cause of the torch-and-pitchfork chase in Greg's nightmare. One of the Spineticklers paperbacks he has been reading is titled Tails, You Lose.

In Double Down, Rowley Jefferson writes to the author of the Spineticklers Junior line asking for what?

Tamer stories were his request, because even the gentler spin-off, written for little kids, terrifies him. Greg sticks to the main series, which is all that keeps his reading grade afloat.

In Double Down, Rodrick Heffley claims whose ghost will haunt Greg if he ever burps indoors?

George Washington is the ghost in question, and Greg half believes it. To stay safe he burps only when he is outdoors or near a window.

In a Double Down flashback, Greg Heffley's mom surprises the family by buying which instrument for him?

A piano turned up at the house before Greg's dad had been told, bought after Greg was seen playing with keyboards at the mall. His lessons went nowhere and it became furniture.