Author of the month David Walliams

David Walliams

David Walliams David Walliams was born on 20th August 1971. His real name is David Williams but he likes to use the stage name David Walliams. When he was young, his sister dressed him up as a girl. He does a lot of charity work. He was a navy cadet as a child because he liked the uniform.

Interview You were already a successful performer and writer for tv, what motivated you to write children's books? Well I just had an idea for a story, which was: what would happen if a boy went to school dressed as a girl, and thought maybe it would make a good children's book. Also, I loved children's books even as an adult, and I knew lots of children liked Little Britain, which was popular at the time. It just happened quite spontaneously really. Where did you get the idea? It's always hard to say exactly where ideas come from, but my sister used to dress me up in her bridesmaid's dress when I was a boy of about 3 or 4, and so I suppose it was a little bit autobiographical. Did you get bullied in school, because in most of your books someone gets bullied? Well I was a little bit. I think that most children experience bullying at some stage. They're bullied and then they in turn bully, which is sadly very common, and sometimes they are bullying and don't' realise they're doing it. I was definitely teased. I realised it's a common experience so it's good to put it in the books and deal with it. In Ratburger, at the end I let the bully have some redemption, which means I let them become a good person because I think people see the issue in very black and white terms and it's not always that simple. There's often a reason why people bully and normally it's because they're not very happy.

Which one of your books do you like the most and why Which one of your books do you like the most and why? I probably like Mr Stink the most. I'm very fond of that one. The first book came a lot from me and my experiences but Mr Stink came purely from my imagination. I think it's quite a tender story. I think people were surprised, as the comedy I'd done didn't really have any tenderness; it was quite hard-edged and Mr Stink as a story is quite soft-edged. What makes a good story? Originality. A story that hasn't quite been told before. Stories do follow certain patterns and some stories are like others but they must always have original elements to them. Every day it gets harder because every day there's a new story. But you can find new ways. J K Rowling comes along with Harry Potter and you say, 'wow she's created a whole new world'. Even now someone somewhere is probably coming up with the next big new idea, it could even be you! Is there a book that changed your life? I think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because that was the first book I read for pleasure myself rather than for school and I really loved it, it turned me on to reading. I've been a fan of Roald Dahl ever since.

Which books will you read?

Challenge Read one book by David Walliams or a part of it and write a short review about it. Hand it in to Miss Heer (Pipits) or Mr Henry by Friday 30th March and you may win a prize!

Now let’s read an extract…