To feel a bit ill about David Walliams?

[HelloYouTwo]

Apparently he’s made over £100m from his books.

There are so many better books out there than that pile of repetitive mildly racist, stereotype-laden junk that he peddles off the back of being a bit famous. I feel sorry for all the decent non-celeb authors out there.

News article if anyone interested:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/david-walliams-sitting-comfortably-in-100-million-book-club-gmp6bwm6b?shareToken=170904334320775f0850152088ce45a1

His stuffs not my cup of tea, but many things aren't that are popular really. A few people I know really like his stuff.

I didn't realise Tom Fletcher was a celeb.

But he wears glasses now so he must write his own books

boysey wow that's a really nice thing to say

don’t you think they might sell so well because the publishers pour so much money into marketing them.

This seems to have escaped you, but publishers are running a business.

Marketing budgets have to stretch very far in the book industry, if they aren’t seeing a return on investment, then marketing budgets get cut.

His books are loved by millions of kids. Marketing helped that, but is not solely responsible for it.

Kids don’t know or care who he is and love the books. Adults on the other hand do and hate the books. So who’s prejudiced here?

I don’t particularly like him as a person, but there’s a fine tradition of famous children’s authors being rampaging arseholes and worse, so it’s not exactly notable.

I didn't know he was famous in his own right until after we'd had some of the books.
I agree with the consensus that they're pretty rubbish really. Not books that any of mine have gone back to, or asked for especially. However, on the whole, I'm also not keen on Roald Dahl.

I don't think the "well my dc loved them and it got them reading" is necessarily a good argument. We don't know whether if an unknown had published a book that was better quality then they'd have got the same set of children reading. Point is that with the celeb authors it means publishers are not looking at unknowns who probably can write books that are just as good.

Boysey45
you just crossed the line between a negative opinion and slander online bullying.

I don't much like either Dahl's or Walliams's books, and I didn't even like most of Dahl's as a child, but I do think Dahl's are much better written. DD7 has read a little Dahl but hasn't yet discovered DW, which I'm quite glad of; one of her classmates read some of a DW book to me and I literally nearly threw up. Fortunately for me DD's a strange child who likes to read books of my childhood and earlier - Chalet School, Paddington, Pippi Longstocking, the Moomins, etc.!

We don't know whether if an unknown had published a book that was better quality then they'd have got the same set of children reading.

same set maybe not, but I know that if my own kids didn't like him, they wouldn't bother with him.

they have abandoned many authors after one book, and some they never en bothered to finish.

LaurieMarlow of course I get that. It’s part of the problem. If you’re publishing a book do you go with something unknown that you think is good but you have to push it to get it selling, or do you back something ty at already has a celebrity springboard to launch it.

Given your user name, why is it that books like Antonia Forest’s Kingscote series aren’t popular or printed now do you think? I loved loved loved those books and would love my dc to enjoy them, but perhaps they are too old fashioned now? They certainly had more depth and detail than the DW type stuff, though aimed at a slightly different age range I guess.

Creep radar - Yes! Something about him gives me the creeps too. Definitely someone I would wait for the next lift for rather than share one just with him. Not sure why either. Just creeps.

Books - I thought were ok until did read one DC had left lying around. Was really shocked by the language and the stereotypes and some of the more adult turns of phrases. I discouraged relatives from buying any more and interestingly DC never asked for any more.

One positive is that they're getting kids reading, and they have the potential to be gateway books. I read the Chalet School books as a kid, which my mum thought were trash, but I read loads of other stuff. Still do. Like with music, a lot of kids get into teeny pop stuff and then they discover indie, hip-hop, rock etc.

Also, OP, Antonia Forest is awesome and I'm so glad so many people on here love her. MASSIVELY underrated.

Boysey I'm no Walliams fan but what a terrible thing to say about someone.

If these types of books weren't around there'd be some child that just wouldn't read at all.

He sets off my creep radar and I can't quite put my finger on why that is exactly

They were only of only a few books that actively engaged by reluctant reader when she was a certain age. They moved her on from Horrid Henry and bridged a gap for her to longer books.

I reckon his 'name' helped the first one get published, but if children didn't enjoy his books they wouldn't keep reading them.

They're an awfully poor imitation of Ronald Dahl, I cannot stand him or them.

I like his books- they're a bit formulaic now, but the first few were good. I think they would sell. Many other celebs have tried and failed so it's not just because he was already famous. I still don't think he really writes them though- I'm convinced that one day the real author will be revealed

And yes, @BeTheHokeyMan, he does mine too. I was half expecting this thread to be about something different from the title.

You should be more angry at the publishers.

It’s not so much the publishers as the sellers and where people are buying books isn’t it? The only place you can buy a book here is a supermarket or WHSmiths. They basically only stock the half dozen or so authors that make up the children’s top 20 bestsellers so that’s what gets bought and means the top 20 stay the top 20 until one of those authors releases a new book and everything shuffles around a bit.

I actually love his books , I read them before my children more often than not , yes he's a celeb and yes there are many better written stories out there , but his still stand the ground .
I am not sure you buy a book because someone famous wrote it or at least I didn't . We buy authors we love wether they are well know or not !

I've read most of DW's books to DS. He's loved them and its really helped us bond. However.....I much prefer Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell stuff, or Terry Pratchett. DS is 8 but I'm starting the TP books this weekend with him I think he will love them.

DS reads Tom Fletcher books and I think they're quite good, and also by someone who seeeeems like they're a nice person. Cressida Cowell is one of our favourites. Maybe we should start a Parent's Book Club??!!

I don't like the books but my kids love them. The characters are unoriginal and are just poor imitations of Roald Dahl, most of them. I suppose at least he writes them, unlike a lot of the other 'celeb' authors.