Book review: David Walliams books

The girls and I have discovered David Walliams.

Or, to be more accurate, we have discovered his books for kids.  I had known of him for a while as a sometimes-funny (and sometimes not-funny) British TV comedian.

Hearing more and more about how good Walliams' books are, I requested The Boy in the Dress from the local library (choosing it for no other reason than Wikipedia said it was his first book, published in 2008).  We picked it up last week, and I quickly flicked through it to make sure it was okay.  Mulan got hold of it, and on the same day, within an hour or two, had finished it.  It was passed on to Miya, who likewise finished it a few days later.  It was then passed back to me, and I finally got to read it last night.

In the meantime, I requested Walliams' other 11 books from the library.  I picked four of them up on Thursday -- Mulan has read them all and Miya has read two.  The other seven books are slowly dribbling in.  I'll pick up another four on Tuesday when the library reopens after Easter.

So, what do we think of Walliams' books?

Obviously, they are light and quick and fun to read.  They are not too challenging, and we can zoom through them pretty fast.  The main character in The Boy in the Dress is 12 (which is often an indicator of the suggested age of the reader), but the writing style is so simple that Miya had no problem reading it.  There are also plenty of illustrations dotting the pages throughout the books, which make them far more appealing for Miya to read.

Style-wise, lots of reviewers immediately make the comparison with Roald Dahl, and that is very obvious to see.  The slightly edgy humour is definitely there -- sometimes black, sometimes gross, but definitely appealing to kids.  The illustrator of Walliams' first two books is Quentin Blake, who also illustrated Dahl's books, strengthening the Dahl-feel even more.  And, much like most of Dahl's stories, the main character (at least in The Boy in the Dress) had a somewhat sad life, but was lifted out of sadness in an extraordinary way.

What really puts Walliams' The Boy in the Dress on my must-read book list is that it is a sweet morality tale that is uplifting, but not overly moralising.  Walliams clearly wanted to use his first children's book as a teaching opportunity, to help change perceptions, reduce prejudice, and lessen bullying and intolerance.  In case it isn't obvious by the book's title, to help ease up a bit with society's sometimes overly strict gender roles and gender stereotyping.  To say that it is okay for a guy to slip on a dress on occasion, when he feels like it, and to like sparkly clothes.  And absolutely good on Walliams; I agree 100% with the book's morality.  But Walliams didn't overdo it with the moralising -- there is no sickening sweetness or pedestal-preaching.  He has managed to get that delicate writing balance that turns a story idea into a great book.

Yeah, the story is simplistic.  Yeah, the solution to the Big Problem near the end is a little too convenient and unbelievable.  Yeah, those who want to resist the idea of easing up on gender roles might try to psychoanalyse the Boy's relationship with his mother.  But I think all that doesn't matter.

My impression from one book is that Walliams' books would be most ideal for tweens who might not otherwise be big readers.  The writing is possibly a little on the easy side for Mulan, though it is nice for her to read some less challenging books sometimes.  And the themes might sometimes be a little too mature for Miya (not the dress-wearing, but some of the other almost-teen stuff).