Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal facts for kids
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| Author | Jeff Kinney |
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| Illustrator | Jeff Kinney |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Diary of a Wimpy Kid |
| Genre | Children's novel Graphic Novel 一Realistic Fiction |
| Publisher | Amulet Books (US) Puffin Books (UK) |
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Publication date
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April 9, 2019 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover),Print (paperback), Kindle, audiobook |
| Pages | 217 |
| ISBN | 978-1419740275 |
Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal is a fun spin-off book from the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney.
Unlike the main Wimpy Kid books, which are told by Greg Heffley, this book is written by Greg's best friend, Rowley Jefferson. Rowley decides to write his own journal, but Greg quickly convinces him to make it a biography about Greg instead! The book first came out on April 9, 2019. A second book, Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure, was released later on August 4, 2020.
Contents
What Happens in the Book?
Starting the Journal
Rowley begins his journal by talking about his family. He explains that he started writing because his best friend, Greg Heffley, also has a diary. When Rowley shows his new journal to Greg, Greg says Rowley is copying him.
Greg then gets an idea: Rowley's journal should be Greg's biography! Greg believes he will be rich and famous one day. So, Rowley agrees. He changes his journal's title from Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid to Diary of Greg Heffley by Greg Heffley's Best Friend Rowley Jefferson.
Early Adventures with Greg
Rowley starts Greg's biography with a chapter called "Early Life." He jumps to when he first met Greg in fourth grade. Rowley writes that he likes Greg because he does "hilarious things and plays wacky pranks." He also shares a few small details about Greg's family.
Rowley then writes about his first sleepover at Greg's house. They got scared by a noise outside, which turned out to be Greg's brother, Rodrick. Rowley ended up wetting his pants!
More Funny Stories
The book shares many other funny stories about Greg and Rowley. Here are a few:
- Rowley saves Greg from a birthday party after Greg falls into a ditch with a hornet's nest.
- Greg has a blank list for his "accomplishments." Rowley is supposed to fill it in later when Greg does something amazing.
- Rowley and Greg play in the woods. Rowley trips over a rock, and Greg tells him they disturbed an "ancient burial ground."
- Rowley thinks his dead grandfather's ghost is haunting his old cabin.
- Greg plays a "wacky prank" by pretending to be a burglar.
- Greg loses his balance and asks Rowley to "pull him back up on his feet." But Rowley misunderstands and grabs Greg by the feet, making him fall into a puddle! Greg then chases Rowley with a stick until dinner.
Greg's "Good Boy Awards"
Rowley writes about "the time when Greg created a special award just for me." Greg gives Rowley a "Good Boy Award" for cleaning Greg's garage. Greg gives Rowley more awards for doing his chores, some even "worth more" than others.
Rowley eventually says the awards aren't special anymore because he has so many. So, Greg creates a "point system" called "Li'l Goodies." Rowley can get a "Fantastic Prize" for earning 50 points. The prize turns out to be a basket of dirty laundry! Greg claims it was a test.
Studying with Greg
Rowley then writes about "The time I found out Greg is a lousy study partner." They try to study for a hard math test at the library. Greg tries to goof off and even makes a secret code to cheat on the test.
Rowley doesn't want to cheat, so he suggests they study separately. They move to desks with dividers. Greg starts slipping notes with questions between the dividers. Then he starts slipping mean notes and rude drawings. Greg even ties another adult's shoes together, making them fall!
They get moved to the children's section. Greg throws paper balls into a trash can and dares Rowley to make a basket. When Rowley does, Greg tries to do the same. Rowley realizes Greg is using his notes! Rowley gets mad, and they get kicked out of the library after Rowley chases Greg with an egg Greg pretended to lay.
Getting into Trouble
In the next entry, "The time I made the worst mistake of my life," Greg cheats by copying Rowley's test. Their teacher, Ms. Beck, catches them because Greg copied everything, even Rowley's name!
They both get in trouble. Greg gets three days of detention and has to retake the test. Rowley only gets a warning. He is upset because he was warned not to cheat, even though he didn't mean to.
Greg Has Rowley's Back
Rowley then writes about "The time Greg totally had my back." He hopes Greg won't be mad for making him look bad. Their class gets a substitute teacher who doesn't care if students act crazy or don't do work. When their regular teacher says she won't be back, the substitute stays all year.
Everyone, including Rowley, gets a "C" grade. It's clear the teacher didn't look at any assignments. Greg complains that Rowley was the only one who did classwork. He says the teacher was terrible and should be reported. This makes the teacher change Rowley's grade to a "B."
Superheroes and Sleepovers
Rowley tells us about things Greg said that are clearly not true. Then, he shares a story about them drawing their own superheroes. They find old "Zoo-Wee Mama" comics and Greg gets the idea to create a superhero.
After some bad ideas, Greg and Rowley each come up with their own. Greg makes fun of Rowley's superhero, "Amazing Guy." But then Greg changes his mind, hoping to get money if Rowley sells movie rights. Because they have different ideas, they split up again and make their two superheroes fight each other.
The Sleepover at Greg's House
In one of the last entries, Rowley has a two-night sleepover at Greg's house. The first night, they prank-call Scotty Douglas and sneak out to jump on a trampoline. Greg's parents get mad and send Greg to his little brother Manny's room when they start fighting.
The next day, Greg is not happy that Rowley is getting special attention as a guest. Greg's mom decides they need time apart because friends can get on each other's nerves. So, Rowley goes to play with Manny.
Greg plays a trick on Rowley to steal a cookie. Greg's mom tells Rowley to take one of Greg's toys home so they are "even." Rowley picks a knight action figure. Greg tries to get it back with many tricks, and they start fighting again. Greg's mom divides their room in half. Greg then pretends to activate an "invisible forcefield" that "zaps" Rowley if he tries to cross it. Greg even stops Rowley from using the bathroom, forcing him to pee out the window in the morning!
The sleepover ends with Greg flushing Rowley's knight figure down the toilet. This makes Greg's mom let Rowley take three of Greg's toys home, and this time, Rowley picks very good ones!
The End of the Journal
Rowley shows Greg his biography. Greg is mad because it focuses on both him and Rowley, not just Greg. Rowley suggests it could be their biography. But Greg threatens to change all the parts about Rowley to make him seem dumber and change his name.
Greg then closes the book on Rowley's face, saying it's payback for dropping him in the puddle earlier. Rowley then hits Greg in the face with the book, making Greg fall into another puddle!
Rowley then plans to make the book about all the spooky things they did. He also notes that Greg also wet his pants at their first sleepover when Rodrick scared them. Rowley decides to change the diary's focus back to himself.
The book ends with Rowley's parents telling him he should find new friends. Rowley says he can't because Greg takes up so much of his time. But since Greg's mother said that friends get on each other's nerves, Rowley figures he and Greg must be "best friends" because they get on each other's nerves the most!
