The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is a penology of humorous books, written by American cartoonist and online game developer Jeff Kinney. They follow through the illustrations of Greg Heffley, a male student in middle-school explaining his everyday adventures through his detailed drawings and simple notes.
After Jeff Kinney was unsuccessful in syndicating his comic strip, Igdoof, he started writing down his ideas for about 6 years (in 1998), which eventually became Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jeff Kinney wrote his last of his work of Diary of a Wimpy Kid in 2004. The series are believed to be loosely based on Jeff Kinney's childhood, and and virtually all the characters are based off people in reality, who are replaced by fictional names to protect their identity. Before publishing, the author stated that he had a rather complex childhood in middle school, and wanted to write about this.