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Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Author: Jeff Kinney.Published by: Puffin Books, 2007.
The plot: Diary of a Wimpy Kid is Greg Heffley’s journal. It begins with a rejoinder — it’s a journal, not a diary. So “don’t expect Dear Diary this and Dear Diary that”. And second, it’s his mom’s idea, not his. Greg is a smart kid. He is in the “gifted reading group” and is also “super good” at video games.
Greg has learnt it the hard way that he is in trouble when his dad addresses him as “friend”. Friend = Good does not hold good in this case and it by no means means that you can let your guard down.
Rowley is his BFF (best friend forever) but only “technically”, because it is “subject to change”. This is how Greg and Rowley’s graph goes up and down — down when Rowley uses the word “play” instead of “hang out” at the lockers and up when they are partners in launching a Haunted House in Rowley’s basement or go trick or treating on Halloween. Down again when Rowley gets all the attention (including from girls, who invited him to their table to feed him) when his hand was in a cast. And down again when Rowley’s Zoo-Wee Mama cartoon strip is chosen for the school paper and Greg’s Creighton the Cretin is dropped.
Greg has an elder brother, Rodrick, part of a band called Loaded Diaper. Rodrick can’t stop taking poor Greg’s trip. He wakes him up for school in the middle of the night (Greg was shouted at for eating Cheerios at 3am) or making fun of him about the pink Barbie shoe that got stuck up his nose. There’s also a little brother called Manny, who according to the cartoons is really little. Greg is not too hot on Manny. Manny not only gets the prince treatment at home but also calls Greg “Bubby”.
In the diary, Greg records his days in middle school. He does everything from running for treasurer to trying his hand at wrestling willingly, and also for a part in The Wizard of Oz school play unwillingly. He ultimately signs up for the role of a tree because: “1) they don’t have to sing and 2) they get to bean Dorothy with apples.” It backfires because not only do the trees have a song to sing, his brother Rodrick almost records it on video!
The entries in the, er, journal, get funnier with each week. Some day Greg volunteers for Safety Patrols, experiencing the joys of free hot chocolate and missing 20 minutes of pre-algebra but only to get suspended for “terrorising” the kindergarteners by chasing them with worms. Greg also tries to get voted on to the Class Favourites page to be “practically an immortal”. Since Most Popular and Most Athletic are out, he decides to wear nice clothes for the rest of the year to get Best Dressed. Or maybe Class Clown!
Then there is Christmas. While little Manny gets every single toy he had circled in the catalogue (and he had circled every single toy in the catalogue), Greg only gets some books, socks, a Best of Li’ Cutie comic book, a weight set, a giant red wool sweater and a big wheel. And an 8x10 picture of Uncle Charlie — the same fellow who had given him the Barbie doll.
Thumbs up: Greg. He is seriously super cute. The graphics are adorable too. Not merely illustrating the funny moments, they are standalone funny moments.
Thumbs down: 217 pages is too short for such a sweet read.
t2 tip: There are books 2, 3, 4 and 5 too. The sixth title — Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever — is scheduled to come out on November 15. To know more, log on to www.wimpykid.com
What the Smurf!
Anyone who lived off Cartoon Network in the ’90s will recall The Smurfs, an animated television series starring adorable little blue creatures whose favourite word is — you guessed it — “smurf” (as in “You’ve got to be smurfing me!, I’m too smurfed out to smurf that right now”).
The Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs in French), introduced as a series of comic strips, was created by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo in the late 1950s. These simple tales of bold adventure are incredibly popular among the French (a new Smurfs comic album in French, released in 2009, sold some 140,000 copies) and haven’t done too badly internationally — the comics have been translated into 25 languages, and sold over 25 million copies worldwide.
Now, The Smurfs is soon to be released as a 3D live-action film directed by Raja Gosnell and starring Neil Patrick Harris (Barney of How I Met Your Mother), Jayma Mays (Emma of Glee), Hank Azaria (Phoebe’s boyfriend David of Friends) and Sofía Vergara (Gloria of Modern Family).
How the smurf did it all begin?
Peyo was enjoying a meal with his friend André Franquin when he forgot the word “salt”. Joking, he asked Franquin, in French, to pass the “schtroumpf” to which Franquin replied, “Here’s the schtroumpf. When you are done schtroumpfing, schtroumpf it back”. The two spent the weekend speaking schtroumpf language, and so the bonny blue creatures came into being.
Smurf me! Tell me more about the comic...
The first Smurf comics appeared in 1959. Although 26 comic albums exist, Peyo created only 16 of them, the rest being put together after his death with help from his son Thierry.
In September 2010, Papercutz began reissuing Smurf comics, translated into English by Joe Johnson. With nine comics in total, these are a great way to see some of Peyo’s original illustrations, which are reminiscent of Asterix comics. Although targeting an age group younger than that of Asterix, these are not only great for children, they’re also a welcome distraction if you’ve had a long day at work and want to unwind with something fun and light.
When can I smurf the film?
The Indian release is slated for early August. Get hold of the comics, distributed by Macmillan, if you’d like to re-acquaint yourself with the Smurfs before the film. The escapades of the Smurfs and their nemesis, the evil wizard Gargamel and his equally nasty cat Azrael, will give you hours of smurfy fun!
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Facebook, the friend-finder
Title: Theodore Boone — The Abduction.
Author: John Grisham.
Published by: Hoder & Stoughton, a Hachette UK company, 2011.
What: This is the second title featuring Theodore Boone, a spunky 13-year-old who solves mysteries as much with his smartness as with Facebook. Keeping Grisham’s legal legacy alive, Theo is the son of lawyer parents, does his homework in a law firm, prefers hanging around in the local courthouse than in school and has a mutt named Judge. In between masterminding searches for his best friend April, who disappears in the middle of the night, Theo also represents a parrot in Animal Court. A breezy and refreshing read, The Abduction is Enid Blyton @2011.
t2 pick: The humour. Theo’s parents need to go out of town for a day. With rumours of a girl being abducted in the neighbourhood, Theo has strict instructions to text his mother “every two hours, beginning 11 this morning”. At exactly 11am, he texts his mother: Home alone. Serial killer in basement. She replies: Not funny. Love you. Then, at 1pm, Theo writes: With Chase [his friend]. Axe murderers in hot pursuit. Won’t make it. Please take care of Judge. Love. A few minutes later she replies: So nice to hear from you. Be safe.
Love Mom.
