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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules: Navigation

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

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On 8+
4 stars

Big dose of sibling rivalry in very funny sequel.

Author: Jeff Kinney Illustrator: Jeff Kinney Pages: 224 Publisher: Amulet Books Published Date: 02/01/2008 Genre: Fiction - Humor HC Price: $12.95 Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: 8+ Read Aloud: 8+ Read Alone: 8+

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Common Sense Note

Parents need to know this book has sibling rivalry, one wild party, and some scheming to cheat on tests and get out of chores. The great thing is, like most middle school kids, the characters get caught and are punished.

Families can talk about lying and friendship. Why was Greg's mother more upset when she found out he lied? How would you feel if your friends treated you like Greg did Chirag? Have you ever done something in school that made other people feel bad, but made you feel cool and popular?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Terreece Clarke

A worthy follow-up to the first book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, RODRICK RULES gives us more of Greg's funny take on the world around him through his comics-laced journal. Greg's in more scrapes this time around, and worse than that, his bully brother Rodrick knows one of Greg's secrets that could definitely get him into trouble and threatens to tell the world. Here comes the brotherly blackmail (and a great topic for parent-kid discussions).

The cartoons that go along with Greg's journal entries are hilarious. Bestselling author Jeff Kinney does a great job portraying the hazardous environment of middle school and of showing us a relatable kid whose full of foibles -- while he's very likeable he can be sarcastic, snarky, and occasionally pretty mean to his friends. The situations Greg finds himself are both familiar and embarrassing. While Greg likes to think he's the victim of misunderstandings, like when he promises to be honest and takes it too far, the majority of the time he gets what he deserves.

From The Book

Mom and Dad were supposed to be back by 7:00, and we still had a TON of work to do.

It wasn't easy to erase all the evidence of the party, because Rodrick's friends had left bottles and trash in all these crazy places. At one point, when I went to make myself a bown of cereal, about a hundred bottle caps poured out.

Plot Summary:

Greg Heffley is just trying to put the summer and its events behind him. It would be a lot easier if his mean older brother Rodrick didn't know his darkest secret. All Greg has to do is keep Rodrick quiet and keep his journal out of Rodrick's hands and everything should be OK, well not OK, but tolerable.

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Someday Angeline by Louis Sachar
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My Life as a Fifth Grade Comedian by Elizabeth Levy
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Related Web Site:
Wimpykid.com

Reviewed: 01/29/2008

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Content
CS adults kids

Sexual Content

A kid gets kuddos for getting into the opposite sex's bathroom at school. Boys are described as trying to get girls to be interested in them.

Violence

Rodrick draws some violent cartoons, including one of his brother Greg being pushed off a cliff. A boy is shown injured when he kicks something heavy.

Language

Mild name calling, like "jerk" and "nerd."

Message

 

Social Behavior

Sibling rivalry, mean pranks played at school, and some plots for cheating. The characters are sarcastic, but for the most part understand the difference between right and wrong.

 

Commercialism

 

Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco

A cartoon shows a presumed high-schooler smoking.

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