*Scroll down for English*
Gwerth addysgiadol/educational value: ◉◉◎◎◎
Negeseuon positif/positive messages: ◉◎◎◎◎
Themau trist,anodd/upsetting, tough themes: ◎◎◎◎◎
Trais, ofn/violence, scary: ◉◎◎◎◎
Iaith gref/language: ◉◎◎◎◎
Rhyw/sex: ◎◎◎◎◎
Hiwmor/humour: ◉◉◉◉◉
Her darllen/reading difficulty:: ◉◉◎◎◎
Oed diddordeb/interest age: 8-15
Oed darllen/reading age: 8+
This series will appeal to anyone who enjoys a bit of silliness and has been known to really appeal to boys who don't normally read.
Ydych chi wedi clywed am Jeff Kinney?
Mae’r gyfres Diary of a Wimpy Kid gan Jeff Kinney yn ANHYGOEL o boblogaidd ac yn ffenomenon byd eang, sydd wedi cynhyrchu deuddeg nofel, pedwar ffilm, ac sydd wedi gwneud yr awdur yn ddyn cyfoethog iawn iawn! (mae o’n werth tua $70 miliwn yn ôl rhai!) Mae adroddiad ‘What Children are Reading 2020’ yn dweud mai Jeff Kinney oedd yr awdur mwyaf poblogaidd llynedd o bell ffordd, gan guro David Walliams a Roald Dahl! Roedd nifer o’i lyfrau yn ymddangos fel ffefrynnau ar restrau disgyblion o flwyddyn 3 hyd at flwyddyn 10 ac maen nhw’n boblogaidd iawn gyda bechgyn yn enwedig.
Mae rhai yn meddwl fod llyfrau Dyddiadur Dripsyn yn hollol wirion, ac mae eraill yn meddwl eu bod nhw’n genius! Beth bynnag yw eich barn am y gyfres neu addasiadau yn gyffredinol, allwch chi ddim dadlau gyda’r sales figures!
Be 'di'r gyfrinach?
Dwi’n meddwl mai’r gyfrinach tu ôl eu llwyddiant ysgubol yw’r hiwmor. Mae’r rhain yn llyfrau doniol. Doniol iawn. Yn ôl Scholastic, mae 42% o blant yn chwilio am hiwmor mewn llyfrau cyn dim byd arall. Wrth gwrs fod angen darllen ystod eang o lyfrau a genres, ond mae gwneud i rywun chwerthin yn gallu bod yn arf pwerus iawn. Weithiau mae’n braf cael “switch off” a darllen rhywbeth ysgafn, sy’n hawdd i’w ddarllen, a does dim o’i le gyda hynny.
Mae ‘na filiwn o resymau eraill pam bod y gyfres mor boblogaidd, ond mi fasa hynny’n flogiad yn ei hun!
Llyfr 10: Yn ôl i oes yr arth a’r blaidd
Yn anffodus i Greg, mae ei Fam wedi cael syniad. Mae hi wedi penderfynu y byddai’n syniad da i bawb wneud sbel heb dechnoleg a chyn hir, mae hi wedi llwyddo i berswadio’r pentref i gyd i fynd yn ddi-dechnoleg am benwythnos. Hawdd? Dim wir!
Dydi hi ddim yn cymryd yn hir i bethau ddechrau fynd o chwith. Wrth frwsio’i ddannedd, llwydda Greg i ollwng caead y past dannedd lawr y sinc, ac wrth geisio’i gael yn ôl, mae pethau’n mynd o ddrwg i waeth! Yn dilyn yr helynt gyda’r sinc, mae ei daid yn cytuno i fynd a fo lawr i’r siop yn y car, ond maen nhw hanner ffordd yno cyn sylweddoli nad oes gan taid drwydded i yrru! O diar!
Yn dilyn yr helynt gyda’r car, does gan Greg ddim dewis ond dianc i Fferm Mochras am wythnos ar drip ysgol er mwyn osgoi ffrae anferthol gan ei rieni! Does dim technoleg ar Fferm Mochras chwaith, ac mi fydd raid i’r bechgyn ddygymod gyda’r cyfleusterau llai-na-delfrydol! I wneud pethau’n waeth, mae sôn o amgylch y gwersyll bod ‘na ddyn gwyllt o’r enw Selwyn Sgriff yn crwydro’r coed!
Dyfarniad
Dwi’n meddwl fod y rhain yn rhai o’r addasiadau gorau yn y Gymraeg ac maen nhw’n swnio’n llafar ac yn naturiol iawn, sy’n gwneud y darllen yn haws. Fodd bynnag, mae’r addaswr wedi dewis iaith Ogleddol iawn, felly fydd hyn ddim at ddant pawb. Os ‘da chi’n rhywun sydd ddim fel arfer yn hoffi darllen, a ‘da chi awydd stori wirion gyda llwyth o dwdls sy’n siŵr o wneud i chi chwerthin, rhowch gynnig ar hwn! (a’r 9 llyfr arall wedyn!)
Beth nesaf?
Ym myd y ffilmiau, mae sequels wedi cael enw drwg am beidio bod cystal â’r cyntaf, ond nid yn achos Dyddiadur Dripsyn – mae’r gyfres yn bell o fod wedi chwythu ei blwc. Peth hawdd fyddai rhedeg allan o stêm erbyn y degfed llyfr, ond nid Jeff Kinney! Dywedodd o’n ddiweddar ei fod am ddal ati i sgwennu, felly mi gaiff ‘fans’ Dyddiadur Dripsyn ar hyd a lled Cymru gysgu’n dawel o wybod fod mwy ar y gorwel!
Have you heard of Jeff Kinney?
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney is incredibly popular and has become a global phenomenon, which has produced twelve novels, four films, and made the author a very rich man! (he’s worth about $70 million according to some!) The 'What Children are Reading 2020' report says that Jeff Kinney was by far the most popular author, beating even David Walliams and Roald Dahl! Many of his books came top on lists by pupils from year 3 to year 10 and these books have been particularly good at enticing boys who normally wouldn’t be interested to read.
Some think that the Dyddiadur Dripsyn books are completely silly, and others think that they are pure genius! Whatever your views on the series, I think the global sales figures speak for themselves!
I think the secret behind their resounding success is the humour. These are very funny books, the kind of humour that is perfectly tuned to that of pre-teens and young teenagers. Making someone laugh can be a powerful tool, and according to Scholastic, 42% of children look for humour in books before anything else. Of course, we know that you need to read a wide range of books and genres, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to read something light and easy every now and again. If it gets you to pick up a book in the first place, we’re all for it!
Greg Heffley is the ‘hero’ of these books, but he’s far from perfect. I wouldn't say he’s a very good role model either, but so what? Yes, he doesn’t always do the right thing, often makes mistakes and things backfire on him quite often, but that’s part of his charm and it’s obviously something that children can identify with. He wouldn’t be half as interesting if he was a little angel now would he?
There are a zillion other reasons why Greg and his antics are a big hit, but I think that would be a blog in itself!
Book 10: Oes yr Arth a’r Blaidd
Unfortunately for Greg, his Mum's had a big idea. She’s decided that things were better in the old days, and even managed to persuade the town council that everyone should go tech-free for the weekend! Easy-peasy, right? I doubt it!
It doesn't take long for things to start going wrong. Whilst brushing his teeth, Greg succeeds in dropping the lid of the toothpaste down the sink, and in his efforts to get it back, things go from bad to worse! After the ‘incident’ with the sink, his grandfather drives him down to the hardware shop, but they’re halfway there before they realise that Grandad doesn’t have a licence to drive! Oh dear!
And after all that palaver with the car, Greg has no choice but to escape to Mochras Farm for a week on a school trip to avoid a huge telling off from his parents! There’s no technology at Mochras Farm and the boys must learn to cope with the less-than-desirable facilities! To make matters worse, there’s whispers going around of a madman on the loose. Will they ever get to the bottom of this mystery?
Verdict
I think these are some of the best adaptations available in Welsh and they flow quite naturally, which makes the reading easier. (some adaptations can be a bit awkward) However, the translator has chosen a very Northern dialect, so this won’t appeal to everyone. If you're a reader who doesn’t normally like reading long novels, and who enjoys a bit of silliness, give these a try – they’re almost a cross between a comic and a novel. (graphic novel)
What next?
In the world of films, often get some stick for not being as good as the first, but I don’t think that’s the case with Dyddiadur Dripsyn, and the series seems to have life in it yet. You’d think that it may run out of steam by the tenth instalment, but not Jeff Kinney! He recently said that he will keep on writing, so fans can sleep easy knowing more will be on the way!