What influenced Jeff Kinney?
Kinney spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C. area and later moved to New England. As a young reader, Kinney was inspired by the books of Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, and J.R.R. Tolkien. While a student at the University of Maryland, Kinney decided he wanted to become a cartoonist.
What was the inspiration for Diary of a Wimpy Kid?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney didn’t grow up wanting to be a children’s author. His dream was to become a newspaper cartoonist, but he wasn’t able to get his comic strips syndicated. In 1998 Jeff came up with the idea for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a story about a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley.
What is Jeff Kinney famous for?
Jeffrey Patrick Kinney (born February 19, 1971) is an American author and cartoonist, best known for the children’s book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He also created the child-oriented website Poptropica.
What kind of books did Jeff Kinney write?
He is best known for authoring the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ series that features many children’s books like ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules’, ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw’, ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel’, ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days’, ‘Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book’ and ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever’, to name a few.
Why does Jeff Kinney work outside the US?
“I used to think that the books were too American to work outside the US,” says Kinney, who despite the books’ massive success still works as creative director of an online games portal, Poptropica.com. “But these books aren’t really about America. They’re about a childhood, so that’s why they work.
Where did Jeff Kinney live as a child?
Jeff Kinney is also the creator of Poptropica, which was named one of Time’s 50 Best Websites. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England in 1995. Jeff lives with his wife and two sons in Massachusetts, where they own a bookstore, An Unlikely Story.
How did Jeff Kinney get the Diary of a Wimpy Kid published?
Since his comic wasn’t gaining the audience Kinney wanted, he ended up teaming up with FunBrain to publish the Diary of a Wimpy Kid online. With the success of the initial website, Kinney ended up publishing the first in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.