Hard Luck: Tanzania bans 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' children's book series

Some of the books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. [Courtesy: Wimpykid.com]

The Tanzania Ministry of Education has banned the 'Diary of a Wimpy kid' children's book series.

The Minister of Education, Science and Technology says the books have been banned because they are 'Morally repugnant'.

The ban was announced down by Prof. Adolf Mkenda, Minister of Education, Science, and Technology, who says the book goes against Tanzanian traditions and customs, and thus 'schools have an obligation to follow those procedures when preparing children'.

"I encourage parents to check students' bags and rooms to ensure that these books are not being used at home; the inspection and monitoring are ongoing to determine if such books are in schools so that we can take action."

According to the East African nation's authorities, the books promote negative foreign behaviour, especially on issues such as transgender, gay, lesbianism, bisexuality, intersex, and asexuality. Bookstores in Tanzania have also been ordered to take the books off their shelves and display racks.

Popular childrens book

'The Diary of Wimpy Kid' series is authored by Jeff Kinney. The main character in the book is a seventh grade boy called Greg Heffley.

In a October interview on CNN, Kinney said Greg "more as a cartoon character than a literary character".

According to 'The Diary of a Wimpy Kid' official website, the first book in the series was published in 2007 and became instantly famous for its relatable humour.

Today, more than 275 million copies have been sold around the world.