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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 6, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Big dose of sibling rivalry in very funny sequel.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 8 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    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.

What to watch out for

  • 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.
  • Sex:

    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.
  • Language:

    Mild name calling, like "jerk" and "nerd."
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    A cartoon shows a presumed high-schooler smoking.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was written by Terreece Clarke

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

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • 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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More on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Book 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.

Is It Any Good?

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.

Publisher’s Details

Publisher: Amulet Books, Publication date: 02/01/2008
Number of pages: 224, Price: $12.95 (hardcover)
Read Aloud: 8+, Read Alone: 8+

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    I rate this title on for age 8 and give it 4.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Good role models

    im ten and i love it

    im ten, it was great, if u ask me ill go ahead and say it was funny violence like when greg drew that pic. of war cracked me up or when rodrick drew a picture that said"I will not push gregory." then it showed rodrick pushing greg and a shark at the bottam waiting (stick man form).

  2. Kid Reviewer Age 10
    I rate this title on for age 7 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Good role models

    -`111111*-

    + -

  3. I rate this title on for age 7 and give it 3.0

    Second book is a bit better, but sitill so- so

    The second book in the Diary of a Wimpy kid series is a bit better,but still very so-so, and it's still a bit funny too. Still you should read it. Very enjoyable to read

  4. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    I rate this title on for age 9 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages

    Try It!

    Great book! For those other kids who rated it for 6 yr olds, sorry guys it's a bit hard for them to read this book. They also may not understand some of the content. Anyways, the book shows that you shouldn't feel afraid from being 'different' (greg has a diary) and instead just enjoy yourself. It has AMAZING humor that any child can relate to and the drawings well.. let's just say "ha-ha!" The smoking issue thing, I think that's really not that bad. I mean children no not to smoke, everything relating to smoking doesn't mean it's bad. What if it's telling you, "don't smoke!"? All in all, this book will make kids laugh their heads off!

  5. I rate this title on for age 9 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate language
    • Negative role models

    the 2nd sequel in the wimpy kid series is pretty good.

    i gave it on for 9+ because rodrick draws pictures of greg getting pushed off a cliff, greg and rowley play a violent bord game with rowleys babysitter, and greg draws violent pictures too.the language isnt bad words, but there is j lots of jerks, stupids, nerds and stuff like that.greg is a bad role model because he steals from rowley, and disobeys his mom. its probabably the most innaproprite diary of a wimpy kid, but anyone 9+ could probably read it.

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