Greg Heffley’s story continues in Big Shot, the newly released 16th Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. Author Jeff Kinney chatted about his new book with ABC Audio and teased the “misadventures” he has in store for the young protagonist.
In Big Shot, Greg’s mom persuades him to sign up for basketball, but as Kinney warns, “He’s not a very sporty kid.” The middle schooler does make a team, but it’s the “worst” one, so his chances of winning a single game are very slim.
The best-selling author said the message he wants children to take away from Big Shot is that not everyone is destined to become a professional athlete — and that’s okay. “Youth sports really is full of these funny degradations that we don’t really talk about,” he explained. “We’re always trying to build our kids’ self-esteem up and we don’t want them to feel like they failed.”
“I want to really hit that head on and give kids who aren’t star athletes a language to express themselves and… describe what they’re going through,” Kinney said of his book.
Now that Greg has starred in 16 books, it does beg to question how much he has changed since the world was first introduced to the 11-year-old in 2007.
“In some ways, he hasn’t really changed,” Kinney remarked. “I think we really rely on our cartoon characters to stay the same.”
He said an example is Donald Duck, who’ll never outgrow his temper that makes him “fly off the handle” because the audience likes that about him.
Because of that, Kinney explained, “Sometimes Greg learns a lesson, but it’s usually subverted.”
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Related Posts
Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer reunite for the 20th anniversary of ’13 Going on 30′
April 23, 2024
Snap Stills/REX/ShutterstockJennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo and Judy Greer are celebrating 20 years…
Music notes: Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and more
April 23, 2024
Music videos by Dua Lipa and Tyla will be screened at the upcoming Tribeca Festival, which will…
‘Blink Twice’ trailer: Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut starring fiancé Channing Tatum is here
April 23, 2024
Amazon MGM StudiosThe trailer for Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut, Blink Twice, has arrived.The…
’20 Days in Mariupol’ and ‘STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie’ among first nominees for 84th Peabody Awards
April 23, 2024
Apple TV+On Tuesday, 41 nominees from the Documentary, News, Public Service and Radio/Podcast…
Apes, together viral: 20th Century Studios not monkeying around with ‘Kingdom of the Apes’ promo stunt
April 23, 2024
20th Century StudiosIn a stunning gag that 20th Century Studios head Steve Asbell rightly predicts…
Harry Styles, Tyla nominated for UK’s prestigious Ivor Novello Awards
April 23, 2024
Erskine/ColumbiaHarry Styles and Tyla are among the nominees for this year's Ivor Novello Awards,…
Now that she’s a mom, Rihanna regrets hitting the red carpet with her “panties out”
April 23, 2024
Larry Busacca/Getty ImagesOver the years, Rihanna has worn her share of stunning red carpet looks —…
Both ‘Mean Girls’ movies coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on April 30
April 23, 2024
Paramount PicturesGet in, loser, we're going Blu-ray shopping: Both the 2004 original Mean Girls…