Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw is the third book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. In this book Greg Heffley deals with his father, Frank Heffley, trying to "toughen up" his son. Though Greg tries to convince his dad he doesn't need to toughen up, he tries to no avail. Greg's dad threatens to send him to military school. Does Greg get shipped out? Read and find out.

I do love this series. I think that many children can relate to how Greg Heffley feels as a new middle schooler and as he progresses through the experience. I also think that many children can relate to being the middle child in a family and the trouble that comes from being older but not quite old enough. I think that this book would be a great addition to my classroom for students to read at an independent level from the third-grade up to fifth-grade. 

I could see using this book with the others in the series to do an author study or book clubs in my classroom. I could also see using this book to spark a creative writing session where the students write journal of their own about their school year experience much like Greg Heffley does in this series. I think that having the students journal about their school year can help them to process much of the difficulties and triumphs they experience. I also think that as the students get older they will have something that they can reflect on that will remind them of that experience. They can use the book as a guide of topics that they can write about from siblings and parents to friends and relationships. I think that students, especially boys, will be more interested in writing a journal using this book as a reference.