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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney – review

Dog Days is an amazing book from the Diary Of A Wimpy Kid series. Greg Heffley wants to spend his whole summer holidays playing games inside but that doesn't exactly work out!

My favourite character is Manny, Greg's younger brother, because he always tells on whatever Greg and Rodrick do wrong. My least favourite character is Rowley because he always moans and keeps going on about Joshie (the character nobody likes!)

I would recommend this book for kids 8+ and it will make you laugh! This book is good to read if you like to laugh and see what is going on in the Heffley family.

Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop .

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Book Review: 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days'

Book Four in the Popular Series

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• M.S., Instructional Design and Technology, Emporia State University
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" is the fourth book in Jeff Kinney’s humorous series of books about middle school student Greg Heffley and his trials and tribulations, most of which are of his own making. Once again, as he did in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," " Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules ," and " Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw ," Jeff Kinney has created, in words and pictures, an amusing “novel in cartoons,” although the summer setting does not allow for the scope of humor that a school year middle school setting does. As in the other books in the series, the emphasis in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" is on the general goofiness that comes with being a self-centered adolescent and the often unexpected (at least, to Greg) results.

The Format of the Book

The format of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" has remained consistent throughout the series. Lined pages and Greg's pen and ink sketches and cartoons work together to make the book seem like an actual diary, or as Greg would emphasize, “a journal.” The fact that Greg has a somewhat goofy outlook on life and is always trying to work everything out to his benefit and justify his actions makes the diary format particularly effective.

Each of the earlier books in the series focuses on Greg's daily life at home and at school. Each book also tends to focus on a particular family member and Greg's problems with them. In the first book, it's Greg's little brother, Manny, who "never gets in trouble, even if he really deserves it." While Greg also complains about Rodrick, his older brother, Rodrick doesn't take center stage until the second book, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules." In the third book in the series, the conflict between Greg's father's expectations and Greg's wishes is emphasized.

It's no surprise, then, to find Greg and his mother at odds in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days," but there are also some major conflicts with his dad. What a surprise it is to find all the action set in the summer rather than during the school year. According to Jeff Kinney, “I’m very excited about 'Dog Days' because it takes Greg out of the school setting for the first time. It’s been a lot of fun to write about the Heffley summer vacation.” (7/23/09 media release) However, the book loses something by not being set during the school year and not including the usual interaction between Rodrick and his brother.

It's summer and Greg is looking forward to doing whatever he wants, with an emphasis on staying indoors and playing video games. Unfortunately, that is not at all his mother's idea of summer fun . The difference between Greg's vision of the perfect summer and the reality is the focus of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days."

Recommendation

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" ​ will appeal to middle-grade readers , but probably younger ones 8 to 11. While "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" is not the strongest book in the Wimpy Kid series, I think it will appeal to fans of the series. Kids reading the series know that Greg is over-the-top in terms of being self-centered. They understand the relationship between cause and effect in terms of what happens as a result of Greg's poor judgment and find it amusing. At the same time, Greg's thought processes, while exaggerated, mirror those of many tweens, which is also part of the appeal of the Wimpy Kid series. (Amulet Books, An Imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2009. ISBN: 9780810983915)

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days - Chapters 1-8 Summary & Analysis

Chapter one opens at the beginning of Greg’s summer vacation. He indicates that he feels guilty over the summer because the weather is nice and he just wants to stay in and play video games. His mother doesn’t like and he tells her he’s trying to protect his skin from the sun. He remembers going to the country club with his friend Rowley. They drank smoothies by the pool and charged Mr. Jefferson’s account. When the waiter forgot Greg’s umbrella for his drink, Greg complained to Mr. Jefferson. Later, Rowley tells Greg he can’t go to the country club anymore.

In chapter two Greg describes the town pool that his family belongs to. He doesn’t like it, especially the men’s locker room. He gripes that his parents won’t let him watch horror movies, but...

(read more from the Chapters 1-8 Summary)

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Introduction

Diary of a wimpy kid: plot summary, diary of a wimpy kid: detailed summary & analysis, diary of a wimpy kid: themes, diary of a wimpy kid: quotes, diary of a wimpy kid: characters, diary of a wimpy kid: symbols, diary of a wimpy kid: theme wheel, brief biography of jeff kinney.

Historical Context of Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Other books related to diary of a wimpy kid.

• Full Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid  
• When Written: Late 1990s-mid 2000s
• Where Written: Plainville, Massachusetts
• When Published: 2007
• Literary Period: Twenty-first century fiction
• Genre: Young Adult fiction
• Setting: An American middle school
• Climax: Greg tells his classmates that he was the one who touched “the Cheese,” protecting his best friend Rowley.
• Antagonist: School bullies
• Point of View: First-person

Extra Credit for Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Four Feature Films. Diary of a Wimpy Kid has been adapted into four feature films: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017). Kinney served as executive producer on the film versions of his books.

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

School's out. Summer vacation is on. However, Greg may not have the best summer vacation ever. What could go wrong? School's out. Summer vacation is on. However, Greg may not have the best summer vacation ever. What could go wrong? School's out. Summer vacation is on. However, Greg may not have the best summer vacation ever. What could go wrong?

• David Bowers
• Maya Forbes
• Wallace Wolodarsky
• Jeff Kinney
• Zachary Gordon
• Robert Capron
• Devon Bostick
• 67 User reviews
• 77 Critic reviews
• 54 Metascore
• 2 wins & 7 nominations

• Greg Heffley

• Rowley Jefferson

• Rodrick Heffley

• Frank Heffley

• Susan Heffley

• Holly Hills

• Chirag Gupta

• Patty Farrell
• Manny Heffley

• Heather Hills

• Stan Warren

• Grandpa Heffley

• Mrs. Jefferson

• Mr. Jefferson
• (as Alfred E. Humphreys)

• Mr. Draybick
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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia A sequel was in the works but cancelled when the actors who play the protagonists underwent a major growth spurt suddenly.
• Goofs At Heather Hills' Sweet 16 party, during LD's performance, Heather Hills swings at Rodrick with his mic stand, missing him, but in turn knocks her chocolate fountain over & away from her. In the next shot, she's seen standing next to her friend on the opposite side of the fountain, without the mic stand, & the chocolate fountain has been splattered onto her somehow.

[from trailer]

Greg Heffley : I can't believe it's so crowded here. Maybe we should come back.

Rodrick Heffley : How about never? Does never sound good?

• Crazy credits The animated 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning of the movie changes to a cartoonified version, and a beach ball flies across the logo.
• Connections Edited from Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
• Soundtracks Day in the Sun Written by Andrew Bissell and Adam McCants Performed by Simple Heroes Courtesy of Whizbang, Inc.

User reviews 67

• ashwinballe
• Mar 16, 2020

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• How long is Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days? Powered by Alexa
• August 3, 2012 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official site
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3
• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• Fox 2000 Pictures
• Color Force
• Dune Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $22,000,000 (estimated)
• $49,008,662
• $14,623,599
• Aug 5, 2012
• $77,229,695

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 34 minutes
• Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Surround 7.1

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