To think that the Wimpy Kid books are pure shite?

I won’t hear a word said against Lottie Brooks, it is genuinely funny,

Love the Wimpy Kid series. Ds had about 7 of them until he grew out of them. He's 19 now and they are on still somewhere on his vast bookshelf. I read one to see why they appealed and they are amusing. We've seen the movies too.

DD6 - avid reader. I also hate Rainbow Fairies (but appreciate that she reads them herself) and have steered her away from Walliams.

Currently thoroughly enjoying the Atticus Claw books. Clever writing and entertaining for parent and child!

This has made me nostalgic for all the Sweet Valley High and Point Horror books I read as a yoof. Absolute rubbish but I devoured them. I’ve gone on to have a career in publishing! We have the entire Rainbow Fairies set I found in a charity shop but haven’t embarked on them yet! If he likes that comic book style stuff, the Phoenix magazine is pretty good for encouraging reading. It’s basically lots of comics strips, DD1 likes Bunny v Monkey a lot. Some of them make me chuckle, they have a 4-panel strip called Waiting for Godonut which is just two donuts waiting for another donut and some of the lines are very funny.

No. A child who is a reluctant reader and refuses all the new books as their boring and stupid (her words). I hit the jackpot when she found the Enid blyton faraway tree series.. we visited the library and I had all the so called new books other children liked but no it was my old books she loves which I'm running with...she's still a reluctant reader but she'sore keen now. Your comment was rude to a mother who struggled to get a child to read.

There's nothing inherently better about a child who enjoys "lovely, classic books" vs wimpy kid.

Books are books. Mine wouldn't read to themselves until they discovered wimpy kid, now they read loads of different books. Currently they're reading Narnia but they still go back to wimpy kid when they want a quick, familiar read. The short length was great for them to have a sense of achievement of finishing a book too.

So the protagonist isn't a perfect person - most kids aren't perfect, all kids can be mean and thoughtless but children enjoy books that they can relate to their own lives. Wimpy kid has led to some good moral conversations with my dc about other ways greg could have behaved etc.

Not many kids out there can relate to toad of toad hall.

More like you've rejected them on her behalf.

Agree with this.

I don’t have much of an opinion on Wimpy Kid becuase the kids read them alone. It’s comic strip like, too difficult and clunky to read aloud.

Kids seem to like them so fair enough.

Walliams I don’t particularly mind. Yes, both the text and illustrations are a Roald Dahl / Quentin Blake rip off, but I don’t mind the stories, they are fairy amusing.

David Walliams and Tom Gates moved my DD (who later turned out to be dyslexic) on from Horrid Henry length books. For her anything that encouraged her to read was good. No they aren't fine literature, but for her they were better than nothing.
Wimpy Kid is more aimed at older reluctant readers than younger keen ones.

I've read loads of them aloud/along with my reluctant reader (boy, btwn 7-9) too. Agree that Greg is a awful character. I just chatted with him about the stories, what did he think of what Greg did etc, and we agreed that he often acts very unkindly.
They do love them though and they are easy for them to start independent reading.

Dd agrees on Walliams being too awful but she discovered Ds’ old Wimpy books and has read loads. They probably are as you say but she flew through them.

She’s on to Faraway Tree now so maybe next phase.

Am reading Little Women to my 8yo, think there’s a big distinction between books you read/choose and books they read/choose.

Of course you don’t enjoy them, you’re not the target audience.

This is what it like to know too. I watched all the films with the children and loved them.

I've just seen it's Father Christmas. Tbh I don't even remember FC in any of the stories so if can't have been that questionable surely?

He is still very young and probably being drawn in by the illustrations and other kids in his class reading them.
As the adult, introduce something ‘better’ into your reading routine. Hopefully he’ll realise there are far more interesting and fun stories out there!
Recommend the Polar Bear Explorers Club ( and others in that series).

Good luck! Your kid will thank you when they’re older for the time and energy you put into reading with them.

Oh Beastquest!! 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮

My DS read these. They were the ONLY fiction he would look at, and we are rapidly running out of Ultimate football heros...

<colour> <gemstone> <generic name> is a very special fairy, not like the other fairies but doesn't know it yet. In the course of discovering her true <colour> power, some friendship issues arise but she saves the day by tapping into her <gemstone> gift and using this as a magical Project Management tool by which all the other fairies follow her lead to fix the problem and realise she's the most special fairy of them all.

Repeat the programming routine with every permutation of colour, gemstone and a bonus batch of sparkles, glitter and meteorological/astronomical phenomena and you have every book.

I think the wimpy kid is meant to be very flawed, thats why he gets into stupid/embarrassing/ funny situations.
I loved the one where they won a pig.
I have read most of the wimpy kids, beast quests and david Walliams books to my sons, don't regret any of it.

Yeah these are not books to read aloud! I hate them but DS(8) adores this sort of rubbish. As long as he’s reading it’s fine, but I read aloud to him books that are far more to my taste. If he doesn’t like them we would stop but so far that’s never happened.

I read those! And those trashy babysitters club books. I’m in no position to be a book snob now really. Still hate DW books.

Yes! Loved them.

Have you tried Captain underpants? Far better, by the sound of it. Fortunately neither of ours had Wimpy kid books.

Off the topic but can anyone remember point horror books as a teen? I loved those.

She will miss out hugely if she is taught to reject new authors. Any books that get kids reading are great.Wimpy Kid has got so many kids reading ditto David Williams. The latter contain a good range of vocabulary and some great stories. All sorts of books have their place .

Book snobbery is misguided imvho .