Wimps, dorks, and reluctant readers: Redefining literacy in multimodal middle grade diary books【翻译】

Acknowledgements
I couldn’t have asked for a better thesis committee throughout this project. Simply put, I
don’t know what my thesis would have looked like without the guidance of my thesis chair, Dr.
Ramona Caponegro. I want to thank her for listening to me ramble when I wasn’t sure of what I
wanted to say, urging me to think deeply, reining me in when I veered off topic, and reassuring
me when I was questioning myself. She was a calming presence throughout the thesis writing
process, and no matter how scattered I felt at the start of a meeting, I always left feeling
reenergized, refocused, and ready to keep pushing forward. I also want to thank my equally
amazing second reader, Dr. Annette Wannamaker. Early on in my graduate career, Dr.
Wannamaker gave me the advice that “done is better than perfect” – words I returned to
repeatedly throughout this project. She has been a supportive voice in this process, pushing my
work toward excellence, and I am so grateful for her advice and encouragement.
I also want to thank the many Eastern Michigan faculty who have provided support to my
thesis in small and large ways by helping me work through ideas and inspiring me to think about
literacy in new ways, particularly Dr. Ian Wojcik-Andrews, Dr. John Dunn Jr., and Dr. William
Tucker.
I’d like to thank my amazing classmates at Eastern Michigan whom I’m honored to study
alongside. Specifically, I want to thank my fellow thesis-writing classmates – Chelsea Bromley,
Bethany Fort, and Lacey Hoffman – who were the best support group I could have asked for.
Lastly, to my parents, Grandma, Jil, Kevin, and many friends who now know more about
Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries than they probably ever wished to and who seem to
have an endless amount of encouraging words to say, thank you. It was your belief that I could
do this that pushed me to keep going.
iii
Abstract
Since the release of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the multimodal, middle-grade diary
book has gained popularity. The series features “handwritten,” journal entries and drawings and
has elicited many imitators, the most prominent of which is Rachel Renee Russell’s Dork
Diaries. While the diary form is not new to children’s literature, these series reinvent the
established conventions through drawings and supplementary online environments. Both series
are routinely identified as for reluctant readers; however, their diversity of form actually leads to
complex reader engagement. My purpose is to refute the idea that the books are useful only as
precursors to “better” books. I will do this by exploring the popularity of these books, by
examining the types of reading the books ask for, and by showing how they encourage
innovative writing experiences. Ultimately, the series demonstrate how texts for child readers are
changing to fit a dynamic literacy landscape.
iv
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………..ii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………..……………….iii
Table of Contents…………………………………………………..………………….………….iv
Introduction – The New Diary: Using Cartoons to Redefine the Diary………………...…...…....1
Chapter 1 – Free to Be (Dorky) You and (Wimpy) Me:
Un-defining Popularity in Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries………….…………………15
Chapter 2 – Reading the Words and Images of Middle School:
Multimodality and its Importance in Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries…………………35
Chapter 3 – Are You An Artist Like Me?!:
Reader Interaction within the Worlds of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries……......…....56
Conclusion – Reading, Writing, and Creativity: Where Do We Go from Here?..........................84
Works Cited…………………...……....……...……………………………………………….....87

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