Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules - #2
by Jeff Kinney
Amulet Books
Publication Date: February 2008
Review Copy: Uncorrected Proof received at NCTE

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is funny, but Roderick Rules is even funnier. The plot is tighter and more focused. The sibling rivalry between Roderick and Greg (which trickles down to Manny) is believable and relentless. And Rowley is weirder than ever.

I'm not the only one who thinks this book is funnier than the first. When I got back from NCTE, we made a sign-up sheet for the review copy, with the students who had read the first book getting first chance to sign up. Four guys have finished Roderick Rules and all but one of them agree that it is funnier.

The first to read it said that it is funnier because there are more of Roderick's crazy ideas (like trying to use the fake money he stole from Greg), and they go bad in worse ways. He especially liked when mom got involved playing the role-playing game and named her character "Mom." (That part reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Marge gets involved in the online game in which Bart's character is ruthless and evil.)

The second reader liked the suspense after the party they had when their parents were gone. The party went undetected for a long time, then the dad almost found out when he discovered that the downstairs bathroom door was not quite what he remembered, and then he did find out when the pictures in mom's camera were developed.

The third reader was the one who disagreed. He liked the first book better. He liked that it was longer, and he thought the Creighton the Cretin comic (Greg's invention) in the new book was simply not funny. (He can recite the joke in the first Cretin comic word for word.)

The fourth reader thought that Roderick definitely made this book funnier than the first. He thought it was funny when mom danced when Roderick's band played at the talent show. (It's always more funny when someone else is humiliated by their mom!)

Looks like a couple of girls are next up on the list to read Roderick Rules. It will be interesting to see if they agree with the guys!