EXCLUSIVE. Jeff Kinney, author of the famous “Diary of a Kid” series: “Parents make the mistake of giving their children books they loved. I've experienced this with my own children”

Jeff Kinney is the author of the “Diary of a Kid” series and the “father” of one of the most beloved characters in children's books. When the little ones start reading on their own, “Journal” is the series that makes them devour volume after volume and that gives parents hope that their children will willingly and with great pleasure read anything from now on. The appearance of Kinney's volumes, almost 20 years ago, sparked a real “revolution” in the lives of parents who complained that it was difficult to get their little ones to pick up the book.

His volumes, with a formula that combines the idea of ​​a diary and a comic strip, speak in the language of children, and Greg, the main character, is a funny “anti-hero”: a clumsy kid who always gets into trouble. Kinney's books have been challenged by some parents (alarmed that Greg is not exactly a model child) or teachers, who blame the language or the “lightness” of the writing and format. But the author is convinced that the little ones need exactly books like his.

The author of the famous series (reached 20 volumes) granted us an exclusive interview on the occasion of the release of the film “Diary of a Kid: The Last Drop” on Disney+. During the interview, he spoke to us – with honesty and humor – not only in his capacity as a writer or screenwriter, but also as a parent trying to keep up with the generation of screens and “fragmented attention”. He says that it is his duty, as an author, to know how to captivate his audience, to get the little ones out of the screens.

All About Mothers: The first book in the “Jurnalul unui pusti” series appeared almost 20 years ago. They are still very popular books, although children have changed a lot since then. How did you manage to stay relevant to them?
Jeff Kinney: I think in a way Greg is an “old fashioned” kid. He's a lot like me when I was a kid: he has lemonade stands, offers to shovel the neighbors' driveways, and all that kind of stuff. And today's kids obviously have the phone as a very important part of their lives. Sometimes I touch on this topic in my books, sometimes I don't. I think it would be a pretty boring story if I just talked about kids and phones, wouldn't it? Yes, some things have definitely changed, but I think others have stayed the same.

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