The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is the big fish in publishing now. With seven of the top 10 hardcovers in 2010, it displaced Twilight as the best-selling juvenile/young-adult series in the U.S.

"When I was writing 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid,' I was actually reading Harry Potter," said Kinney. "He is brave, he is magical, he is powerful. And I wasn't any of these things as a kid.

After 13 installments in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Greg Heffley's best friend finally tells his own story. Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid is all about Rowley, whose superpower is kindness.

So here we are with “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “Hotel for Dogs” director Thor Freudenthal’s live-action feature film version of the Jeff Kinney books. Kids may love the movie, and even kids ...