Jeff Kinney Brings Laughs to Storyvoice and Introduces His Latest Book

Kid Reporter Asher Freije with Jeff Kinney's new book Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper

New York Times Bestselling Author Jeff Kinney has entertained readers for nearly two decades with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. In a recent interview, Kinney discussed the release of his twentieth book called Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper and the events on his book tour, including an event with Storyvoice. 

His characters have been able to maintain relatability and relevance after all these years. Kinney said, “I think it’s pretty easy for me to remember what it was like to be a kid. I hope that kids can see themselves in my characters.”. Many middle schoolers find his stories to be accurate depictions of what many kids that age face, often laughing out loud, and Partypooper was no exception. 

Storyvoice is a free online platform for live author events which streams on Fridays throughout the school year. Kinney drew an impressed crowd of 42,000 students who tuned in to watch him read from his book on Storyvoice. Fans also received a tour of his studio, answered trivia questions, and learned about his writing process. 

The founder of Storyvoice, Michael Clarke, discussed how the idea for the platform began when he was living overseas in Lebanon. “We started Storyvoice to use storytelling as a way to help disadvantaged kids practice reading and feel connected,” he said. His interview with Jeff Kinney was one of his favorites. “Getting to know someone like that who’s had so much success, and be so transparent…it was really cool and inspiring.” 

Since its founding, the platform now connects classrooms all over the country with authors, allowing students an opportunity to see and listen to their favorite books being read by their favorite authors such as R.L. Stine and Alan Gratz, or even guest celebrities including rapper/actor Ludacris. For a full schedule of upcoming read-alouds, check out storyvoice.scholastic.com. 

While reflecting on how kids from 2,000 classrooms across the country saw him on Storyvoice, Kinney said, “It’s really a privilege to reach that many classrooms…and it's cool that there’s a new generation of readers that enjoy my books."