The Wimpy Kid Series.

Mom's View:

____________ LOVES the Wimpy Kid series, but I just read an article in the New York Times about how some parents are upset about a certain perceived moral bankruptcy in the books. I pretty much immediately wrote any such concerns off, because I basically assumed these were the children of the same parents who wanted to burn Judy Blume books when I was a kid, or maybe politicians who were so busy juggling their busy schedules of extramarital affairs and meetings with fundamentalist Christians that they only had time to skim the books. But then I thought, "Hey, maybe that’s not fair of me." ___________ complains about every book he reads except those, which he devours instantly. If they were completely morally bankrupt, that would make a lot of sense.

So I read one. Actually, I read about 60 pages of the most recent one: “Dog Days.” (p.s.: this takes 7 minutes) And I can definitively say that so far, there is not one moral lesson contained therein. If anything, this kid does every possible thing wrong and doesn’t seem to think twice about it. Which is pretty funny. And I’m okay with that, because I know that __________ would rather stab himself in the eye repeatedly with a plastic fork than listen to me proselytize, which is exactly what I’d do if he pulled any of that crap. So I’m pretty much covered in the moral lessons arena. Plus, I’m guessing that most kids are smart enough to know that the book is a joke and not a lesson plan.

After I’d resolved my own mind, I went to my favorite researching tool (Google) to get a better feel for the perspectives on the issues surrounding the series. I couldn’t find any mention of any such issues. Seriously. Not one article, other than the NYT one, that claims in any way that there is an uproar about these books. I went on Amazon, which is what the NYT article quoted for some of the negative reviews, and found a very few amidst all the insanely good reviews. Seriously: very, very few. Most people just talked about how funny the books are, and the negative reviews about the most recent seemed to focus on the fact that it was maybe less funny than the others. (I’m totally going to read the rest of them if that’s true because I was laughing out loud at "Dog Days").

So now I’m thinking, “NYT (a newspaper, I might add, that I really enjoy), why are you misleading me this way? Plus, why are you suggesting something that might put negative thoughts in fundamentalist Christian heads?” I’m concerned by this. Because while I’m not at all worried about America’s children, I’m deeply worried about America’s fundamentalist Christians. They don’t understand jokes. And now I’m worried about the NYT egging them on. What is this world coming to?

Son's view:

I think that diary of a wimpy kid was the best book in the world. I mean, I don’t like to read when I have to (only when I want to, which is never) and this is the only book that I like to read. I heard that parents don’t like the main character because he isn’t a good example. Well technically he is a good example if think about it this way, do the opposite of what he does. It’s as simple as that. This is the only book that gets me and my friend to read. so overall this is the best book in the world.

Mom's response:

FYI: He heard it from me. See what you started NYT?