Diary of a Wimpy Kid: January & February
January: Greg’s Mishaps and School Adventures
In January, Greg had a brilliant idea. He wanted to use the tricycle that Rowley had received for Christmas to go down a ramp, gaining speed. While Rowley was riding down the ramp, Greg would try to hit him with a ball. The plan didn’t succeed, and they decided to practice for next time. The next day, Greg’s mother told him he had to write thank-you notes for his Christmas gifts. He got stuck and decided to write the same message on all of them, only changing the name of the gift.
On Friday, Greg and Rowley were playing when Greg accidentally knocked Rowley over. The ball hit the front wheel of the tricycle, and Rowley fell, injuring his left hand. On Monday, back at school after Christmas break, everyone was asking Rowley what had happened to his hand and offering to help him. Greg thought it would be best if he also taped his wrist to get some attention, but nobody noticed.
A new class started this quarter called “Technology.” The students were told they had to build a robot in groups, with the boys in one group and the girls in another. The teacher, seeing the boys’ list, didn’t approve and decided not to have them build the robot. The next day, the school announced a volunteer brigade. Greg thought it was a good idea and convinced Rowley to join. The director told them they would have to miss some of the first hour of math to pick up the younger children. Rowley wasn’t thrilled, but Greg pinched him, and they continued with the brigade.
February: Snowball Fights and Cartoon Dreams
In February, a snowy day arrived. Greg and Rowley had long planned to build the world’s largest snowman, hoping to get into the newspaper. Rowley called Greg, and they started working on the snowman at Rowley’s house. They got tired and stopped to rest. Rowley’s mother came out and accidentally moved the snowball while pulling out the car, making it bigger. They decided to finish it the next day.
The next morning, Greg saw his younger brother, Manny, making a very small snowman. Greg couldn’t resist stepping on it, unfortunately, his father saw him. Greg’s father came out with a shovel and broke Greg’s large snowball. Rowley arrived just as this happened. Annoyed that they no longer had the large snowball, they decided to use it to create a trap on Whirley Street.
Later, the school announced a vacancy for the position of cartoonist in the school newspaper. It involved making funny comics and cartoons. Greg saw this as a great opportunity to become more famous at school. He dedicated himself to making cartoons at home. The next day, he gave them to the teacher, but he noticed many other submissions on the table and realized he had a lot of competition. Finally, the winner was announced: Greg. He was excited, but when the newspapers were distributed, he found out that the teacher had changed his cartoons. He sat at a table with lots of free space, expecting everyone to ask for autographs, but nobody did.