Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever is a 2011 bestselling and award-winning children's book and the sixth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, written by American author Jeff Kinney. The book was released on November 15, 2011, the paperback edition was released on January 31, 2013, and was the fastest-selling book of 2011, giving him the third-strongest opening-week sales for a children's author. Cabin Fever had a first printing run of six million copies, which Amulet Books stated was one of their most significant titles for that year. In 2012 Kinney won a "Best Author" Children's Choice Award from the Children's Book Council for Cabin Fever. The book received widespread acclaim from critics and is frequently said to be one of the best books in the series. The book was followed by 2012's The Third Wheel.

Plot
Greg's problems regarding the arrival of Christmas and the concept of Santa Claus's surveillance of good or bad children and pondering as to how this could be. His mother stumbles upon a doll known as "Santa's Scout" and uses it as a tool to prompt her children into good behavior however, Greg's paranoia regarding the subject of the doll is taken advantage of by Rodrick, who uses it to prank his brother.

Meanwhile, Greg is preoccupied with a gaming website known as "Net Kritterz" and tending to the needs of his virtual pet and the website's required paid features. So he and Rowley devise various moneymaking ideas, which all backfire or fail. They soon decide to publish their own tabloid newspaper called the Neighborhood Tattler, but find difficulties in selling and advertising it, and Greg fears that Rowley's additions to the newspaper will only damage their chances of selling copies.

Temporarily, they abandon their project to start their own holiday bazaar after Greg buys "Drummies" (which are actually just pieces of fried chicken) at his local supermarket that are cheaper than the ones sold at his school's holiday bazaar, and decide to hang up posters advertising the bazaar on the walls of the school on a rainy day. However, the colored ink on the posters melts through into the brick walls, and the boys' antics are witnessed and published in the community newspaper, as their attempts at advertisement have inadvertently vandalized the school. Fears of being discovered fill Greg with paranoia, worrying that he will be shipped off to a juvenile detention center, and dreads the day where his identity will be unveiled.

Eventually Rowley snaps and informs the school via an anonymous tip that they were the ones who accidentally vandalized the school, but doesn't admit his involvement. Greg confesses to his responsibility with the accidental vandalism and vice-principal Roy gives him a choice: Greg could name the "Me" person and they would both take the punishment together or Greg could take the punishment himself. Greg decides to take it himself. As punishment, Greg is forced to stay after school and scrub the paint off the walls with bleach. When he gets home, however, he finds a note on the front door of the Heffley house from the police and assumes that vice-principal Roy sold him out to the police. A sudden blizzard isolates the Heffleys within their home, resulting in a power outage that spoils their food and causes a basement flood. Frank, Greg's father, in the meantime, is stranded at a hotel near his own workplace, and the family lives in hunger and boredom for the following few days until Rowley comes over and reveals to Greg that his house still has electricity along with the rest of the town with the exception of apparently Greg's own household. A quizzical Greg checks the family's electricity box, only to find that the power has been shut off in all rooms of the house excluding Manny's bedroom, and soon discovers that Manny has been living luxuriously in his bedroom surrounded by food, warmth, and toys without notifying his family because nobody taught him how to tie his shoes. The electricity is returned to the house, and Frank calls the family telling them the roads have been cleared and he returns with food for his family.

The following day is Christmas and Greg discovers himself on the cover of the newspaper for anonymously shoveling the walk-way leading up to the Church (however, only to recover a tag he'd hung upon the giving tree requesting money) that allows a soup kitchen to be opened, and he chooses to exploit himself on the front cover of his own tabloid newspaper in order to receive gifts that people may send to him.

Reception
The book received critical acclaim, with the book being nominated for a 2012 Harvey Award for a "Special Award for Humor in Comics". Publishers Weekly and Entertainment Weekly both praised the entry, with Publishers Weekly writing that although the snow storm doesn't occur until later in the read, "it’s unlikely that anyone will mind".

Adaptations
In December 2012, Jeff Kinney announced that he was working on an animated adaptation of Cabin Fever to air around Christmas 2013. In August 2013, Kinney stated it would be a half-hour television special, and would air on Fox in late 2014.

On September 8, 2023, Disney announced they would be releasing a film adaptation of Cabin Fever for Disney+ on December 8, 2023 called Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever.