Diary of a Wimpy Kid has become one of the go-to middle grade series for kids who like funny, fast-moving books. If you want to read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books in order, start with the main Greg Heffley series, then move into the Rowley Jefferson books if you want more from the Wimpy Kid world.
Jeff Kinney tells the series through journal-style entries, cartoons, and short scenes from Greg’s school, family, and friend drama. The books are easy to jump into, but I still think publication order is the best way to read them.
That way you get Greg, Rowley, Rodrick, Manny, and the rest of the Heffley chaos in the same order readers first met them.
Jump to:
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books in Order
- Rowley Jefferson Books
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid Companion Books
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid Adaptations
- What is Diary of a Wimpy Kid?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books in Order
The main Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are best read in publication order. Each book has its own school problem, family disaster, vacation mess, or friendship blowup, so kids can still understand an individual book on its own. But reading from the beginning gives you the best sense of Greg’s world.
I’d start with Diary of a Wimpy Kid and continue straight through the main series before adding the Rowley books. Here is the main series in publication order.
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007)
- Rodrick Rules (2008)
- The Last Straw (2009)
- Dog Days (2009)
- The Ugly Truth (2010)
- Cabin Fever (2011)
- The Third Wheel (2012)
- Hard Luck (2013)
- The Long Haul (2014)
- Old School (2015)
- Double Down (2016)
- The Getaway (2017)
- The Meltdown (2018)
- Wrecking Ball (2019)
- The Deep End (2020)
- Big Shot (2021)
- Diper Överlöde (2022)
- No Brainer (2023)
- Hot Mess (2024)
- Partypooper (2025)
- Fight or Flight (2026)
The Best Way to Read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books in Order
Start with the first book. That sounds obvious, but it really is the simplest choice here.
The books use a diary format, so publication order also gives you Greg’s school life, family drama, and recurring jokes in the order they were introduced. The series doesn’t age Greg in real time, but the friendships, sibling rivalry, and running gags make more sense when you read from the beginning.
If a kid already grabbed a later book from the library, that’s fine too. These are forgiving books. But for a full read-through, I’d go in order.
Rowley Jefferson Books
The Rowley Jefferson books are spin-offs from the main Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. They are told from Rowley’s point of view, which gives the Wimpy Kid world a different kind of humor.
You don’t need to read these before the main series. I’d treat them as extras after you already know Greg and Rowley.
- Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal (2019)
- Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure (2020)
- Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories (2021)
- Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories 2 (2026)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Companion Books
There are also a few companion-style books connected to the series. These aren’t part of Greg’s main story, so I wouldn’t mix them into the main reading order.
I’m keeping this section to the main companion books, rather than boxed sets, collector’s editions, poster books, Mad Libs, journals, or cover variants.
- The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (2008)
- The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: How Greg Heffley Went Hollywood (2010)
- The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: The Next Chapter (2017)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Adaptations
Diary of a Wimpy Kid has also been adapted into live-action movies and Disney+ animated films. The movies don’t follow every book one by one, so I’d keep the book reading order and movie watching order separate.
Live-Action Films
The first run of films began as live-action comedies. The first three movies star Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley, Robert Capron as Rowley, and Devon Bostick as Rodrick.
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017)
Dog Days pulls from both The Last Straw and Dog Days. The Long Haul arrived later with a new cast and draws from The Long Haul and Old School.
Disney+ Animated Films
The animated films started the story over with a style closer to Kinney’s illustrations. These Disney+ movies don’t follow the books in perfect order, but they do pull from familiar Wimpy Kid stories.
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever (2023)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2025)
The animated movies work fine on their own, especially for younger viewers. But if you’re trying to avoid story spoilers, read the matching book before watching the movie version.
What is Diary of a Wimpy Kid?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a middle grade comedy series about Greg Heffley, a kid trying to survive school, family life, friendships, and his own bad decisions. The books are written like Greg’s journal, with cartoons throughout.
Greg is not exactly a perfect hero, which is part of the fun. He can be selfish, dramatic, clueless, and oddly confident at the worst possible times. That makes the books funny, especially when his plans fall apart.
Rowley Jefferson, Greg’s best friend, is a big part of the series too. His spin-off books give readers another angle on the Wimpy Kid world, but Greg’s diary is still the center of the main series.
The series keeps adding new school, family, friendship, and vacation problems for Greg to survive. That’s why publication order is still the easiest way to read it.
Looking for more books in order?
If you want more authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Books in Order index.