As his 'Wimpy Kid' series hits #20, Jeff Kinney muses on his success, his craft, and his pre-teen readers

Tom's next guest is Jeff Kinney. The Maryland native and University of Maryland grad is the author and illustrator of the best-selling children’s book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Expanding on his original online comic strip, Kinney launched the award-winning book series in 2007. He’s published a new installment nearly every year since, and the books, written for pre-teen readers, have now sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. The 20th installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Partypooper, hits bookstands on Tuesday, October 21. Kinney is coming to Baltimore’s Dumbarton Middle School the night before — on Monday, October 20 — as part of his international Partypooper Book Tour. Monday's Partypooper Show is a ticketed event that gets under way at 7pm.