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Alison Stewart: This is All Of It. I'm Alison Stewart. Jeff Kinney's super popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has sold more than 200 million copies worldwide and inspired several films. The series follows the life and adventures of Greg Heffley and his extended friends and family. The first book came out in 2007 and Kinney just published the 18th book of the series.

When he joined us last year for our Get Little Book Club series for kids, he was on book number 17 in which Greg winds up as a roadie for his brother Roderick who wants to make it as a rock star with his band called Löded Diper with an umlaut over the O like Motley Crew, of course. The story leads to a wild performance at the local battle of the bands. Kinney joined me to talk about the book and take listeners' calls. A reminder, since this is an encore presentation and not live, we will not be taking phone calls today. Without further ado, here's my conversation with Jeff Kinney.

Jeff Kinney: Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm really pleased to be here.

Alison Stewart: So, Jeff, you started writing the series back in 2007. What were you doing before then? What was the original plan pre 17 books?

Jeff Kinney: I graduated with a criminal justice degree, so you could say that my life took a few twists and turns. I became a computer programmer. I created a website called Poptropica which was a big virtual world. My rock star dream, the thing that I worked on at night when I had to turn off the TV and concentrate, was Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I worked on it for eight or nine years before I showed it to anyone at all and then I got really lucky that somebody liked it.

Alison Stewart: We already have a question on Instagram from Trevor. Wanted to know what inspired you to write this series. Trevor wants to know.

Jeff Kinney: My inspiration was my own life. Greg is kind of a -- He's a complicated character. He's not really an aspirational character. He's got lots of flaws, and so did I as a kid. I still have flaws today. Those flaws are amplified for this character for the sake of humor.

Alison Stewart: How would you describe the Heffley family dynamic?

Jeff Kinney: The Heffley family dynamic is a lot like my family's dynamic. It's just what I know, it's what I grew up with. Again, everything's gone through the fun house mirror interpretation or the fiction blender, but it's just a normal family just trying to get by.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Charlie calling in from Redding, Connecticut. Hi, Charlie. I understand it is your birthday. How old are you?

Charlie: Eight.

Alison Stewart: Happy birthday, Charlie. Happy eighth birthday. You get to talk to Jeff Kinney on your birthday. Go for it.

Charlie: What's his favorite character?

Alison Stewart: What is your favorite character?

Jeff Kinney: My favorite character. Happy birthday, Charlie. My favorite character is Rowley. What I like about Rowley is that he's the kid who likes being a kid. He's not in a rush to grow up. I think a lot of times, and this was the case with me when I was a kid, I always wanted to stay up a little bit later, get a year older, or see that next level of movie, PG to PG-13 for example. I really like that Rowley is an innocent and pure kid. He's saddled with this best friend Greg Heffley who's always trying to corrupt him in a way or age him up. He won't budge, and I really like that about him.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Lydia calling in from Sleepy Hollow. Lydia, are you nine?

Lydia: Yes, I am.

Alison Stewart: Okay, you get to talk to Jeff. Go for it, Lydia. What's your question?

Lydia: Do you like how your drawings matched what the story was telling?

Alison Stewart: Do you like how your drawings match what the story is telling? Maybe Lydia wants to know a little bit more about your illustrations and how you come to them. What you decide to illustrate and what do you decide not to illustrate?

Jeff Kinney: It's funny because I really like it when the drawings don't match what's going on in the text because there are lots of illustrated novels out there where the drawings just describe what's happening in the text. They just reinforce it. I really like it when my drawings are at odds with what's in the text because it makes it funnier. When I'm at my very best as the writer, the punchline of the joke is delivered in the drawing itself. That's a complicated answer to a simple question, but it's a great question, Lydia. Thank you.

Alison Stewart: We have a follow-up on illustration. I'm not sure how this is going to work because they're twins. I don't know who's getting the phone. Oslo and Nico from Long Island City who are both eight years old. Okay, who's going to talk first? Oslo or Nico?

Oslo: Oslo.

Alison Stewart: Oslo, go for it.

Oslo: Okay. My question is why did you make your drawing style a simple type of drawing style in Diary of a Wimpy Kid?

Jeff Kinney: That's a great question. I'll make it simple, I'll make my answer simple, is that that's all I'm capable of. [laughter] I wanted it to be a grown-up cartoonist, and I wanted it to be like Charles Schultz who does Peanuts and Bill Waterson who does Calvin and Hobbes, but I couldn't do it. I didn't have that kind of skill, so I had to really simplify my style in a way to make it seem like a kid illustrated this book, so that's why Diary of a Wimpy Kid is so simple.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Hendrika, calling in from Inwood Hills. Hi, Hendrika, thanks for calling All Of It. What's your question for Jeff Kinney?

Hendrika: How did Greg Heffley get his name?

Jeff Kinney: That's another great question. Greg got his name because my mother almost named all three of her boys Greg or Gregory, and she never did. She gave us different names. I thought it would be fun to bring that character to life, that name to life. The last name, Heffley, is close to Kinney in a way. If you stack them on top of each other, you'll see they're very close. I think that's a hint to the reader that my books are semi-autobiographical.

Alison Stewart: Let's take a few more calls. Kai is 10 and is calling in from Brooklyn. Hi, Kai. You're on the radio with Jeff Kinney.

Kai: Hi.

Jeff Kinney: Hey, Kai.

Kai: Well, first, I'm a really big fan of your series. I have books 1 through 15 and I'm reading the 16th right now on screen. I have a question of why did you decide, as the middle child, Greg, to be the main character of the series? You could have chosen any other perspective. You could have chosen Rowley's perspective or Manny's perspective, but you chose Greg's. Why did you decide to do that?

Jeff Kinney: Kai, first, I want to compliment you on your interview style. That is a very great question, a very articulate, and very well-spoken, so thank you very much for being so smart. The reason I chose Greg to be the narrator is because he's sort of in the middle of the middle. Right? He's a middle child, and he's also in middle school. In fact, we have a musical that came out earlier this year and the very first song is called Stuck in the Middle because Greg's just in the middle of it all.

When you're a kid in middle school, it's sometimes difficult because you can feel powerless. You feel like you're smart and you know what's going on but most of the decisions made in your life are made by your parents, so that's what I was really trying to capture with this character.

Alison Stewart: Kai, thank you for calling in. Let's talk to Niti, calling in from New Jersey. Niti is 11 years old. Hi, Niti, thanks for calling. You're on the air with Jeff Kinney.

Niti: Okay, hi. I'm a big fan of your books, and I've read all of the books. Actually, and I've recommended them to all my friends at school. I have a quick question for you. Is Greg going to, as the books go on, is Greg going to move from middle school to high school and go through all the schools and things, or is he going to just stay?

Jeff Kinney: Niti, what a great question. Thank you so much for being a fan. Greg is going to stay stuck in middle school forever. I think what I really realized over time in writing these books is that a cartoon character is like a promise. A cartoon character is a little bit different from a literary character like Harry Potter who we expect to get a year older every year. A cartoon character is frozen in time.

I think that you'll find in life that lots of things are uncertain and lots of things change but your cartoon characters are the things that won't change. I think that's something that's really fun and special about a cartoon character.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Jiro, calling in from Ridgewood, Queens. Jiro is eight years old. Hi, Jiro, you're on with Jeff Kinney.

Jiro: Okay, my question is, how did you think of the series of the title called Diary of a Wimpy Kid?

Jeff Kinney: Great question. I was a little bit of a wimpy kid growing up. I was an average kid, actually, but I had my really wimpy moments. I'll tell you one of the things that I used to do as a kid. When I was on the swim team, it was really cold in the morning in that pool, and I didn't want to get in, so I'd always ask the coach if I could go use the bathroom. He'd always say yes. Then I'd go, slip into the bathroom stall, but I'd be freezing in there. I just waited out practice, so I'd wrap myself in toilet paper to stay warm.

I think that's where Greg Heffley and the idea for Diary of a Wimpy Kid was born, in that bathroom stall. I wanted to take all the embarrassing and funny things that happened to me as a kid and turn them into the comedy.

Alison Stewart: Thanks for calling in Jiro. Let's talk to Zane, who is seven and calling in from- I'm not sure. Yes, 7. Zane is 7. -and calling him from Sleepy Hollow. Hi, Zane, thanks for calling in.

Zane: Hi.

Jeff Kinney: Hey, Zane.

Zane: I wanted to know how Manny got his name. He's my favorite character, and I learned how to draw him.

Jeff Kinney: Cool. Manny got his name because, when I was in middle school, I came across a kid named Manny for the first time. I'd never heard the name before. I didn't know it was short for Emmanuel, but I thought that his parents just wanted him to seem really macho and tough so they named him Manny right out of the gate. [chuckling] I thought it'd be fun to give that name to this kid who's literally the size of a shoe. You probably noticed that Manny controls the universe in the Heffley household which is-- Which I think is true of a lot of younger siblings.

Alison Stewart: My guest is Jeff Kinney. He is your guest as well. He's the author and illustrator of Diary of a Wimpy Kid the series, of course. The new book is called Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Överlöde. Jeff's been nice enough to be here as part of our Get Little radio event. Rodrick's band Löaded Diper,- I'm going to keep saying it that way. Löded Diper. -they may not be the most talented, and they have a lot of issues, but they're very passionate-

Jeff Kinney: Yes.

Alison Stewart: -and very dedicated to trying to make this work. No matter what shenanigans they get up to. What kind of lessons do you hope young readers take away from this story when it comes to pursuing passions?

Jeff Kinney: [chuckles] It's really funny because my lawyer just told me his philosophy on bands and garage bands. He said, "The only reason you should be in the music business is if you absolutely cannot imagine not being in the music business," and I think that that's really true and fun. There is something about these teenagers who create a band who are so passionate about it.

Sometimes it's funny hearing those conversations because you want them to be that passionate about something. I think that's what rock and roll and music is all about. It's all about bottling passion. I think it really is a good thing, but I would say the counterpoint to it is that the passion has to come with skill and dedication and discipline.

There's this great book called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell where he talks about the 10,000-hour rule where you have to put in about 10 years to become really good at something. He uses the example of the Beatles who played in Hamburg, Germany for, I think, about a year. They played these 10-hour sets, and they got really really good at music, so when they were ready for their moment and their opportunity, they were skilled enough to pull it off.

Alison Stewart: That was a great question. Thanks for calling. Let's talk to Haley calling in from Pequannock, Jersey. Haley is 10 years old. Hi, Haley, what's your question for Jeff Kinney?

Haley: I am wondering why Greg's mom tries to make everything educational.

Jeff Kinney: [chuckles] Well, a lot of moms do that. My wife does. I remember, for my kid's, my son's, sixth or seventh birthday party she told everybody, "Don't bring gifts, bring books," and my son was mortified. [chuckles] He had this birthday where he was expecting all of these toys, and he got a bunch of books. I think there are lots of moms and, of course, lots of dads who try to make everything educational, and I think it's something that's really funny about parents who are just looking after your best interests.

Alison Stewart: That's interesting. I'm going to follow up that question with Julie's comment on Instagram. "As a literacy teacher of reluctant readers at the high school level, Diary of a Wimpy Kid got kids excited about reading. The books were so popular, I had to have multiple copies and check them in and out for in-class to independent reading. Thank you, thank you, thank you." That is a really lovely, lovely comment.

Jeff, last year, Disney released an animated version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid in December. Another Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, Rodrick Rules- Oh, I know this one. I read this one with my kid. -is coming out. What's your involvement with these projects?

Jeff Kinney: Oh, it's a total involvement which is really exciting. I'm the writer, and I'm also a producer on the project, but I also got to write a song for this one which was fun. I got to write a heavy metal rock song called Can You Smell Us Now which is an anthem. I won't torture you by singing it. It's really, really cool to bring my books to life in a way that's really faithful to the books themselves.

I get to revisit my stories that I'm not so proud of. I'm not so proud of my writing and narrative style in my early books, and I've gotten better as a writer as time has gone on, but I get to revisit those stories and take the essence of them and tell a better version of the story which is a real privilege.

Alison Stewart: As time has gone on, you've incorporated social media into the books. Is there something else that you can see on the horizon that you may incorporate in as times have changed?

Jeff Kinney: Yes, it's really difficult to crack this because I want the books to feel timeless, so my rule of thumb is always that I want them to have been relevant 20 years ago and 20 years from now, so a window of about 40 years. One thing I know is that, in 20 years from now, parents will still be trying to figure out how young is too young for a cell phone, parents will still be fighting their kids over screen time and things like that, so I really try to stick with things that feel timeless even if they're a little bit contemporary.

Alison Stewart: That was my Get Little conversation with Jeff Kinney, author of the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. That concludes this hour of Get Little interviews, but stick around because, in the next hour, we'll talk about an author who shaped modern children's literature and whose work still resonates today, Judy Blume. This is All Of It. I'll meet you on the other side of the news.

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