Jeff Kinney has it made.  With 23 million copies of his series in print, the author of a Diary of a Wimpy Kid has seen the fruits of his labor produce satisfactory results.  Brilliantly executed and containing wit that even adults approve of, the fourth book in the series, Dog Days, chronicles Greg’s summer vacation and the gross injustices he feels by having to visit the public pool after being booted out of friend Rowley’s country club for racking up a smoothie bill he just couldn’t pay.  Full of angst and determination, the Wimpy Kid starts a lawn care business that lasts one day.  In between mom-approved reading clubs and vying for the attention of a cute high school lifeguard, Greg chronicles his days spent with the family’s new puppy, Sweetie, who becomes more of a nuisance than a real companion.

An easy read that is wholly entertaining, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days breaks up paragraphs with fun illustrations.  Readers feel like they get to know each character through Greg’s detailed diary entries.  Mom, Dad, Rodrick, Manny, and friend Rowley come to life on the pages of the book.  On the verge of adulthood, Greg battles the insecurities he feels by being the middle child.  He highlights his father’s sensitivity and his mother’s desire to build a bond with her children.  He tackles the topic of peer pressure, hormones, hairy men showering at the pool, and the test of friendship.  Kinney’s style of writing keeps kids turning pages. The first children’s author in a long time to grab my attention, I read Dog Days in one sitting and laughed out loud the whole way through.

The New York Times bestselling author was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2009.  His Wimpy Kid series is available for purchase through Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS.  A great gift for the young people in your life, you can pick up a copy or two of Dog Days this holiday season for less than $15.  The release date for the hardback book was October 12, 2009, and it has been flying off the shelf ever since.  Abrams reports that Kinney has a three million-copy first printing, making him one very successful man.