Jeff Kinney is interviewed in the Guardian on why his phenomenally successful Wimpy Kid series, which he began as an adult project, is so appealing to children.
From the piece...
When Kinney first had the idea for the Wimpy Kid he thought it would be a one-off nostalgic book for adults. "I never thought I was writing for kids at all," he explains. "It really shocked and unsettled me to hear kids were buying the books. If I'd known I was writing for kids I might actually have spelt things out a bit more and that would probably have killed the appeal."
He thinks the fact his characters have a slightly knowing, adult perspective is one of the qualities children find appealing. "Kids can sniff out when they are being preached to and they don't like it," he says. "So while my books aren't amoral they are not infused with morals or a message either and kids like that. They also like the fact that Greg is awkward and imperfect. He's not better than them at everything; he's struggling to manage life just as they are."
The look of the books is as important as the storyline and characters, he says. "When a kid picks up one of my books it lets them understand straight away that this is not work."
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