Jeff Kinney, creator of the ultra-popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series for middle graders, recently embarked on a bus tour of the Midwest for the release of book 14, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball (Abrams/Amulet). From November 4 to 16, Kinney made stops in Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, Wichita, St. Louis, Omaha, and Minneapolis, in partnership with local indie bookstores. Stores in three additional cities hosted Kinney as well: Barnes & Noble in Dallas, Books-A-Million in Des Moines, and Costco in Kansas City. He also visited children at several elementary schools. We’ve gathered a selection of highlights from his travels, which included performances of Kinney’s “The Wrecking Ball Show,” an interactive extravaganza inspired by the book’s construction theme.
The official Wimpy Kid tour bus started in Houston and headed north for two weeks, ending in Minneapolis. Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images for Abrams.
Kinney appeared on a number of local morning shows throughout the tour, including Great Day Houston on November 4. Photo: Abrams.
A view of the full set of “The Wrecking Ball Show,” an interactive performance/game show/author event hosted by Kinney. The publication day event on November 5 in Austin, hosted by BookPeople, was held at a megachurch. Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images for Abrams.
The show consisted of eight segments that each entailed different opportunities for audience participation. During the “Dance-off,” parents came onstage to compete for a Skype visit with Kinney for their child’s classroom. Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images for Abrams.
In the “Drawing with Jeff” portion of the show, kids were invited to draw alongside the illustrator. Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images for Abrams.
For the finale, two families were brought onstage to build towers with (foam) cinder blocks. Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images for Abrams.
The event in Wichita, hosted by Watermark Books & Café, was held in the Orpheum, a historic theater that opened in 1922. Photo: Abrams.
Kinney also visited bookstores for signing events. Here, he appears with the staff at Books-A-Million in Ames, Iowa, outside of Des Moines. Photo: Abrams.
