The Wimpy Kid has a Movie Diary Full of Laughs and Learning

You may have heard or already seen the movie adaptation of Diary of a Wimpy Kid that opened in theaters on March 19th, but do you know the steps that landed it there?

Jeff Kinney, author of the popular book series takes kids on a surprising journey through the process of making a book into a movie in The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary.  He starts with the original movie pitch and explores all the work that it takes from there to get to the test screening.

The book is complete with photographs, script pages, storyboard sketches, costume designs, and of course the original art by Jeff Kinney.

What impressed me the most about this book was that it was full of information that the average movie goer is oblivious to.  The work that is entailed is astounding for a scene that might get at most two minutes on the screen.  Even without having read any of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, it was an enjoyable read that both Amber and I learned a lot from.

Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams), not only published The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary, but took it one step further and developed a teaching guide to use with it as well.  With a discussion guide that meets standards and benchmarks in remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing and evaluating; it will have your children and/or students further exploring the making of movies as well as maybe even considering a career in one of the many roles that take part in creating them.

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary is intended for an age 9-12 reading level and is available at Amazon.com for $8.97.  The Teaching Guide can be downloaded at www.wimpykid.com or www.amuletbooks.com.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Abrams Books and received a sample to facilitate my candid review.”