Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 11) Page 9

  of the basement so fast, I think he might’ve

  actually taken the stairs FOUR at a time.

  And once he got out of the house, Rowley didn’t

  STOP. He climbed halfway up the big tree on the

  side of the house, and that’s where I found him,

  babbling nonsense.

  I tried to talk him into coming down, but he

  wouldn’t budge. So I got a tennis racket and

  some balls and tried to KNOCK him down, but

  that only made him climb HIGHER.

  214

  Unfortunately for me, that’s the moment Dad

  came home.

  Wednesday

  It’s been a pretty crazy couple of weeks since me

  and Rowley made our movie. I’ve been too busy to

  keep up with my journal, because Dad has had me

  working in the furnace room every night sorting

  through all the stuff that fell off the shelves.

  HONK!

  215

  I tried explaining to Dad that we were just

  making a movie and things got out of hand, but it

  was like talking to a wall. I thought Mom would

  be a little more understanding, but it turns out

  the tape in the camcorder was of Manny taking

  his first steps, and we recorded right over it.

  So I’m stuck cleaning up this mess in the furnace

  room, and meanwhile, Rowley is drinking in

  his newfound fame. A news crew came out and

  recorded the moment when the fire department

  got him down out of the tree, and the footage of

  the “dramatic rescue” spread like crazy.

  Rowley hasn’t even been back to school, because

  every morning talk show wants a piece of him.

  SPLAT

  216

  What’s really annoying is that in all these

  interviews, Rowley hasn’t mentioned my name

  ONCE, even though I’m the one who MADE him

  famous. But these days he pretty much acts like

  the world revolves around him.

  I guess that’s what fame does to a person. All

  I can say is, you’d never see ME making a fool

  out of myself just to get a cheap laugh from the

  people watching at home.

  DOG

  217

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to all the Wimpy Kid fans for encouraging me to write about

  Greg Heffley and his crazy family. Thanks to my own crazy and

  wonderful family for doing the same.

  Thanks to Charlie Kochman for sitting by my side and encouraging

  me to dig deep and write the best books I can. Thanks to everyone at

  Abrams, especially Michael Jacobs, Jason Wells, Veronica Wasserman,

  Chad W. Beckerman, Susan Van Metre, Robby Imfeld, Alison Gervais,

  Elisa Garcia, Samantha Hoback, Kim Ku, and Michael Clark.

  Thanks to Shaelyn Germain and Anna Cesary for all of the support

  and hard work. Thanks to Deb Sundin and the staff at An Unlikely

  Story for making book lovers happy every day.

  Thanks to Rich Carr and Andrea Lucey for your support and

  friendship. Thanks to Paul Sennott and Ike Williams for your

  invaluable advice.

  Thanks to Jess Brallier for cheering me on year after year. Thanks to

  everyone at Poptropica for your support and inspiration.

  Thanks to Sylvie Rabineau and Keith Fleer for helping me navigate

  the film and TV world. Thanks to everyone in Hollywood who is

  working to bring new Wimpy Kid stories to life, including Nina

  Jacobson, Brad Simpson, David Bowers, Elizabeth Gabler, Roland

  Poindexter, Ralph Milero, and Vanessa Morrison.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and a six-time

  Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book. Jeff has

  been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in

  the World. He is also the creator of Poptropica, which was named

  one of Time magazine’s 50 Best Websites. He spent his childhood in

  the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England in 1995. Jeff

  lives with his wife and two sons in Massachusetts, where they own

  a bookstore, An Unlikely Story.

  www.amuletbooks.com

  www.wimpykid.com