One Sentence Summary
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul follows the misadventures of the Heffley family as they go on a road trip that unexpectedly leads them to unexpected trouble and hilarity.
Book Genre
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is a children’s book from the comedy, fiction, and adventure genres.
Main Topic
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is a book about a family road trip gone off the rails.
Key Ideas
- Road Trip Misadventures. This book follows a family as they go on a road trip and all the situations they find themselves encountering. From family members getting lost, to heated arguments, to embarrassment, to eventual redemption, the book covers it all.
- Growing Up. The central character, Greg Heffley, starts off the book as a middle schooler and by the end he has gained some important lessons about growing up.
- Friendship. The book also touches on ideas of friendship, an important theme for preteens.
Main Parts of the Book and a Short Summary
- Part One: The Trip Begins. The Heffley family gears up for a long road trip to attend their great-grandma’s 90th birthday celebration. With Greg characteristically feeling like the odd one out, the story follows his adventures on the long drive.
- Part Two: Trouble in Paradise. The trip turns in odd directions when they take an unexpected detour to a rural community where the family encounters a magician and meets some odd characters.
- Part Three: Happy Birthday. Upon their arrival at the birthday celebration, things get even crazier. Greg has plenty of comic adventures before the family can finally make it back home.
Key Takeaways
- Going on family vacations teaches valuable lessons about growing up.
- Friendship is an important part of life.
- It’s okay to make mistakes, as long as we learn from them.
- Family is important and we should treasure our time with them.
- Having a sense of humor is key to dealing with challenges.
Author’s Background and Qualifications
Jeff Kinney is an American author, illustrator and producer of children’s books. He is the author of the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in computer science and later went on to write his own newspaper comic strip.
Target Audience
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is mainly targeted at pre-teens and early teenagers, and adults who enjoy children’s literature. While there are some elements of interest for adults, this book is primarily geared towards children.
Publisher and First Publication Date
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul was originally published by Abrams in 2014.