Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Diper Överlöde

Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid Diper Överlöde is a very funny diary for 9 year olds about a boy who follows his big brother's truly terrible rock band around town.

What happens

It's book 17 of Greg Heffley's diaries. Greg has always fancied being rich and famous. Now he reckons the next best thing is being RELATED to someone famous (the Christmas presents would be WAY better).

That someone is Rodrick. He drums in a band called Löded Diper (yes, it's a nappy joke). They haven't played a proper show in over a year, and their singer Bill is thirty-five and lives in his gran's basement. But Rodrick is sure they can win the Battle of the Bands.

So Greg becomes their roadie. He doesn't get paid a penny. He's only in it for the dirt, because one day he's going to write the tell-all book about them.

What follows is one disaster after another. A cheap photo shoot ends up at a studio for babies. Bill swallows a guitar pick at the recording studio. A plan to borrow drumsticks from a pizza place's robot monkey goes very wrong, and Mackie ends up with a robot paw clamped to his leg for weeks. Who knew a first paying gig could involve so many flying chicken wings?

Greg's version of events is the best bit. He's the one sensible person in the room (or he thinks he is). He watches the band bicker over who gets to keep a free van and fall out over song lyrics, and he tells you exactly how daft it all is. You get the feeling he's having more fun than he lets on.

It's all Greg's handwritten diary on lined paper, with a cartoon on nearly every page. Loads of the jokes live in the speech bubbles and the big sound effects. The entries are short and dated, so it's easy to stop and start, and a keen reader could probably race through it in a sitting or two.

If your reader loves toilet humour, this is VERY much their book. The band's song list alone (Potty Mouth, Raise a Stink) should get a giggle. And if they've got an older sibling who's convinced they're about to be famous, they'll probably recognise a thing or two.

What to read next

If they want more of Rodrick's band, go back to Dog Days. It's an earlier summer diary, and Greg remembers the water park show where the band asked for a smoke machine and got bubbles instead.