Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #4)

by Jeff Kinney

Overview

It’s summer vacation, the weather’s great, and all the kids are having fun outside. So where’s Greg Heffley? Inside his house, playing video games with the shades drawn.
 
Greg, a self-confessed “indoor person,” is living out his ultimate summer fantasy: no responsibilities and no rules. But Greg’s mom has a different vision for an ideal summer . . . one packed with outdoor activities and “family togetherness.”
 
Whose vision will win out? Or will a new addition to the Heffley family change everything? 

F&P level: T

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810983915
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	10/12/2009
Series:	Diary of A Wimpy Kid
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	1010L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and four-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book. Jeff has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He is also the creator of Poptropica, which was named one of Time magazine’s 50 Best Websites. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England in 1995. Jeff lives in southern Massachusetts with his wife and their two sons.

Hometown:

Southern Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

February 19, 1971

Place of Birth:

Maryland

Education:

University of Maryland

Website:

http://www.wimpykid.com/

Editorial Reviews

Greg Heffley thinks that summer vacation should be a total vacation from rules, responsibilities, and the supposedly Great Outdoors. To demonstrate his intransigence, bookdom's favorite wimpy kid has locked himself in his room to play videogames with the shades drawn tightly shut. Unfortunately, Mrs. Heffley has quite different ideas about what vacations mean. This addition to Jeff Kinney's simulated diary series will strike a chord in many young readers.

Is there a better remedy for the back-to-school doldrums than getting to see how Greg Heffley spent his summer vacation? If nothing else, the comedy of errors and indignities he suffers will make readers feel a whole lot better about any family vacation disasters of their own. In the fourth book in Kinney's bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Greg has a falling-out with his friend Rowley over a failed lawn-care business, puts up with his parents' attempts to get him out of the house (Mom organizes a book club for boys—who pick out titles like “Sudoku Insanity” and “Ultimate Video Game Cheats”) and tries to shake off the twin horrors of the murderous “muddy hand” from a horror film he watches and the terrifying sights in the men's locker room at the pool. Kinney's gift for telling, pitch-perfect details in both his writing and art remains (such as the cursive script and cutesy content of Mom's photo album captions). No reason to think kids won't devour this book as voraciously as its predecessors. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

This third book in Kinney's popular series opens with Greg's New Year's resolution: Since he's already perfect, he'll focus on helping other people address their character flaws. He’s surprised by their negative reactions to his helpful suggestions! Though some older listeners may have tired of the smart-aleck boy humor evident here, narrator Ramón de Ocampo has not: He brings as much energy to his lively characterization of Greg as he brought to the first book. De Ocampo's depictions of Greg fumbling his way through playing soccer, getting a merit badge in Boy Scouts, and having a first crush are sure to delight the boys who are so clearly Kinney's listeners. De Ocampo's tone—smart-alecky yet often clueless—seems just right for Kinney's antihero. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2010 - AudioFile