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PLAINVILLE - Fifth-grade boys hang on Greg Heffley's every entry of pushing, popularity, private thought or squabble.

Who?

Greg is the main, pre-teen, thinly-drawn main character in the popular book series "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," written and drawn by Plainville author and illustrator Jeff Kinney.

Kinney, a Maryland native who turns 37 on Tuesday, Feb. 19, is in the midst of a grand national publishing success story - a series of five planned books in his "Diary" series. The second installment, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules," the sequel to "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," debuted at No. 1, atop the New York Times best-seller list the week of Feb. 2.

The books - designed in a stick figure, simply-drawn series of diary entries by young Greg, are must-reads by kids all over the country. Greg is a bullied, but wisecracking middle schooler and Rodrick is he ne'er do well older sibling. Kinney, a University of Maryland grad with a degree in criminal justice, originally started the series as a Web comic. He originally dreamed of being a syndicated cartoonist, a la Bill Watterson ("Calvin and Hobbes"), but faced a mountain of rejection slips.

He uses an adult's perspective to remind readers about the harrowing, and often hilarious, life in the halls of junior high. From dealing with the advent of girls, to fleeting popularity, wimpdom and bullying, Kinney keeps readers in a perpetual state of "I remember that," and laughter.

Nine months after the first Diary was released, there are more than 1 million copies in print, according to USA Today. Kinney, a Web designer for a Boston area company, lives in Plainville ("I like the town and I like its proximity to Worcester, Boston and Providence.") with his wife, Julie, and two sons, Will, age 5, and Grant, age 2.

SUN CHRONICLE: Were you a wimp as a kid? Bullied?

JEFF KINNEY: I wasn't a particularly wimpy kid, although I definitely had my moments. Some of the more embarrassing moments have made their way into the book and are pinned on the main character, Greg Heffley. I wasn't bullied, although the bullies were always nipping at my heels.

SC: Was the idea for these books borne out of what you know, first hand experience? Were they originally in some other form?

KINNEY: What I set out to do when I started to write this book was to capture what it was really like to be a kid, and to see things through a kid's eyes. So I spent a number of years just sitting and remembering, and trying to create a character who was a believable kid, and not just a miniaturized adult.

SC: Did you always want to be a writer or cartoonist?

KINNEY: Since college, I always wanted to be a cartoonist. For three years after college, I tried, and failed, to get my cartoon work accepted by newspaper cartoon syndicates.

Eventually, I changed tact and put my cartoons in book form. The notion of being an author still sits uneasily on my shoulders. I prefer 'failed cartoonist.' SC: Who were your comic strip inspirations?

KINNEY: I liked anything with clean lines and lots of white space. Bill Watterson ("Calvin and Hobbes") and Gary Larson ("The Far Side") are heroes of mine, and I don't think we've seen their like since they put away their pens.

SC: As an inspiration to others, just how many rejection slips did you get before this all came about?

KINNEY: I got about 30 rejection letters, almost all of them form letters with no encouragement.

SC: Tell me how this all started. Was it really on the Web first in some form?

KINNEY: 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' was always intended as a print book; however, the opportunity came up to run the book on Funbrain.com in daily installments, and I took it.

I created daily entries from 2004 to 2006, and to date, the book has had more than 50 million visits.

SC: So, how long did it take to get from good idea to book form?

KINNEY: From the inception to book form took nine years. I spent about four years generating ideas, a year writing the story, a year refining the characters, two years rewriting the story for daily installments and a year to move the story into print.

SC: Did you think the stick figure, simple pencil drawings would be the best way to go, or are you just a lousy artist?

KINNEY: (Laughs) I purposefully wrote the book from the perspective of a 12-year-old kid because that's as far as I could push my talents, both in terms of writing and drawing.

SC: Are you shocked by the success of the 'Diary' series or did you know, in your heart of hearts, this would fly?

KINNEY: I truly am shocked by the success of 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid,' although I really hoped it would catch on. When I was a kid, there were certain books that never made it out of the bathroom because they were worth reading over and over.

I was trying to write that kind of book.

SC: What will Greg Heffley tackle in the next three books? Puberty?

KINNEY: (Smiles) In the next book, Greg will face mortal peril as his dad threatens to send him off to military academy. Greg will also experience summer vacation and heartbreak in ensuing books.

SC: What life lessons do you hope Heffley teaches your mainstay audience, those fifth-grade boys?

KINNEY: Mostly, I'm hoping this book will give them a laugh. But I'm thrilled that the book appeals to reluctant readers, and that it might be an introduction to more serious reading down the line.

Jeff Kinney will be signing books at the Plainville Scholastic Book Fair at the Anna Ware Jackson School Wednesday, March 6, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.