Bay Shore students mark 10 years of Jeff Kinney’s ‘Wimpy Kid’

We met at New York City’s famous Carnegie Hall for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the first “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” novel which is written by Jeff Kinney.

The building was swarming with eager fans of all ages. A one-hour presentation from the Jeff that was led by author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka (he is author of the “Lunch Lady” book series), and included a tutorial on how to draw his famous characters and a discussion on where he finds inspiration for his novels.

Jeff invited another student up to the stage to teach him how to draw characters and it was magical to see the characters come to life. Jeff explained how a simple line here or there could change the emotion on Greg or Rodrick’s face. It was also really inspirational to see how this one book has been translated to so many different languages all around the world.

There was a great video clip of Jeff traveling the world with a cool song. It showed him meeting his fans and sharing a love of reading at the Great Wall of China, Paris, all over the United States, and every country you can think of.

Later in the presentation, fans got to hear how Jeff takes his ideas from paper and puts them on the big screen for his new, upcoming movie, “The Long Haul.” Jeff showed a great clip of how a scene of the film was made with one hilarious scene involving a seagull. You’ll know it, when you see it!

We were all really eager to see the new cover of the 12th book in the series but Jeff had other plans. Each fans received a sheet of paper that had dotted lines and instructions on how to make the perfect paper airplane. When all planes were ready, hundreds of kids launched their planes at the stage.

That signaled the big moment; the reveal of the cover of his 12th and newest novel in the series, “The Getaway.”

When the black screen was removed, a giant-size cover of the new novel was there for all the world to see. Be on the lookout for the new blue cover with an airplane on the cover. Jeff was a great presenter, and we really got the feeling that he was a really great guy.

We were then escorted to an executive conference room where they were accompanied by other student reporters from Sirius Satellite, Time for Kids and Nickelodeon. Here they were able to ask one-on-one questions, sign books, shake hands and enjoy hors d’oeuvres with Jeff.

Jeff was a really nice guy who was patient and answered every question we had.

When asked, “What do you consider a good book?” Jeff answered that “Any book that changes or touches a person’s life is an important book.” This day was a day we’ll never forget that certainly touched our life.

We were then invited to cover the world premiere of the upcoming movie, “Long Haul” next month at a private screening. What a day to remember.