This weekend Shaun and I were in NYC to catch a special screening of Diary of a Wimoy Kid: Dog Days. This trip was more than just a chance to watch a movie before it was released in theaters we also were able to participate in a Q&A session with author Jeff Kinney and the main actors Zachary Gordon and Robert Cabron. Create your own Wimpy Kid character from the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid at Wimp Yourself!

The movie itself was great. I’m sad to say that Ihadn’t watched the first film but I’m definitely going to now. This film of the Wimpy Kid, Greg Heffley, is about how his WANTS to spend his summer. Ideally it would be video games but of course plans go awry. The family in the series of Diary of a Wimpy Kid feels very familiar to me. There is a point in the story where the father takes drastic measures to ensure his children get OUTSIDE during the summer; it’s something that could have happened in our own home.

After the move we headed to the Q & A session . I personnaly didn’t ask any questions because I was impressed that mostly children were raising their hands to speak with the actors and author. They asked very good, well thought out questions about their personal lives and making of the film.

After a very successful Q&A the children were able to get books signed . Here is Shaun along with his new friends showing off their newly signed books.

Next was a Parent Round Table Discussion with author Jeff Kinney. This is where the parents got a chance to talk with Jeff Kinney and ask pretty much anything we wanted. The questions ranged from personal to the future of Diary of a Wimpy Kid to what projects are on the horizon.

Here is my own question to Jeff Kinney and his response

Melinda I want to express the same thing others have said, I have a son who was a very reluctant reader and last summer he found one of your books and we since then have bought them all.
Mr. Jeff Kinney: Oh, really? Wow. Thank you.
Melinda: When did you realize “I made something good?”
Mr. Jeff Kinney: What’s funny was that I didn’t think that the books would get published. I eventually decided that I would put them online first. I wrote about 1,300 pages and I figured that it didn’t have a chance –because I had experienced three years of being rejected by cartoon syndicates.
I thought that the book was too strange.
As far as when I thought it might catch on was pretty early on. I think it was about two or three weeks after it came out it became a New York Times bestseller. It started at the number seven position. And then, it went eight, nine, and then I thought for sure that it would drop off. And then, it recovered and it’s stayed on continuously for five years. Amazing.
Mr. Jeff Kinney: The run has been shocking to me. Everything in my life is really strange. In a good way.
Mr. Jeff Kinney: By strange I mean because it’s been all in one chunk. From that moment that the book got published until now, it’s gets crazier and crazier.
One day I’ll be able to look back and say, “Wow, that was a neat time in my life.”
The round table brought out lots of laughs and personal stories from Jeff Kinney and his family. I look forward to what happens next with the Heffley family.

The general sentiment from many of the bloggers was this series has made a postive impact on their children. It has been able to give many children who haven’t yet developed a love of reading a glimmer of something good to come.