Who's a Wimp? Monmouth Regional's Chudney Patterson Grabs the Honor in National Contest

Monmouth Regional's Chudney Patterson is a lot of things when you meet her—smart, funny, easy to talk to—and anything but wimpy.

But the 16 year old recently beat out over 3,000 contestants from across the country to win the “Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Comics Contest,” based on the popular children’s Wimpy Kid book series by author Jeff Kinney and sponsored by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS.

Her original comic, “A Day in the Life of Chudney,” is a 12-panel romp through the highs and lows of a teenager’s day—from missing the morning school bus to the horror of a pop quiz—that shows how the author channels the energy she gets from drawing to navigate life’s daily challenges.

Patterson, who lives in Tinton Falls, said that she always finds the humorous side of life and thinks that that’s what helped her win the contest.  “Sometimes in life, things don’t go right, “ she said, adding that finding the comedy in life's challenges--getting hit by a volleyball or tripping in the school halls--is also a theme of the Wimpy Kid books.

Her mom, Mary Patterson—who is a children’s librarian at the Monmouth County Library in Shrewsbury and Hazlet—concurs. “They share the same sense of humor,” she said of her daughter and the Wimpy Kid author.

“Her work just jumped off the page,” said Kinney, whose book series chronicles the trials and tribulations of middle schooler Greg Heffley and sprinkles comics throughout the novel. His books have been sold in more than 36 countries in 35 languages around the world.

“She has a fun, breezy sense of humor that really appealed to me,” said the best-selling author, who was voted one of Time magazine’s most influential people of the year in 2009

Patterson, who credits her creative family for inspiring her art, said that writing about herself comes easier than making up stories, and that real life is funnier than make believe.

“Everything she writes about is true,” said her mom, who dabbles in watercolors and the performing arts. “She looks for the humor in every situation.”

Kinney said he liked that Patterson’s comic was “slightly subversive” and thought she had a “good understanding of human nature.” In publishing the revised and expanded Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book in May, Kinney encourages kids to write their own bestseller through activites and blank pages for doodling, drawing and writing.

Although the contest, which was open to contestants ages 6 to 16, began in March, Patterson didn’t hear about it until close to the June 10 deadline when her mom brought home the entry form.

“It was between studying for a final and drawing the comic,” she said, adding that she chose the latter and stayed up all night working on her entry. “I was confident that I’d do well, but not that I’d win.”

Kinney, whose more than 50 million Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are in print in the United States and Canada, made the final selection of the contest’s winner and said he was impressed by the “good variety” of comics that were submitted.

“There were some not-great illustrators who had good comic timing and could tell a joke, and there were others that were better illustrators,” he said of the more than 3,000 submissions.  “But I thought Chudney had both of those elements.”

Patterson received $500 for herself and $1,000 to donate to the library of her choice. She chose the media center at Monmouth Regional she said because of the $70,000 in cuts to staffing of the school’s library next year.

Principal Andrew Teeple said that while the school doesn’t yet know how it will spend Patterson’s prize, “It’s a nice problem to have.”

“The contest really showcased the talents we have here at Monmouth and we’re very proud of Chudney,” said Teeple.

Patterson said that winning the contest has inspired her to work on her portfolio and experiment with other forms of art. She’d like to attend the School of Visual Arts in New York and maybe major in art and minor in writing.

Kinney said he thought Patterson had a “gift” and should take her work seriously. Based on all of the contest entrants, he thought the “future (of cartooning) looks very strong.”