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

This!

www.ft.com/content/075d679e-0033-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5

I know it’s off point to the OP so OP?

YANBU.

Surely if they were complete rubbish and not appealing in any way, people would buy one and then not buy any more? So it can't be just his name that's selling them. (I've never read any of them - not his demographic.)

I'm in the "as long as children are reading camp"

I have a dyslexic child with visual stress. The books I raced through with delight at his age, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Secret Garden, The Railway Children etc would give him a thumping headache before page 5 due to deciphering the wall of squirming text, shuffling around the page. If I want to ensure that he never turns a page for pleasure, well-respected, intelligent classics are the perfect method.

So I indulge what he can cope with. Captain Underpants, Horrid Henry, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Crude, funny, minimal text, chunky layouts and simple cartoons that look like he could have drawn them (because he's not going to be celebrated for realistic drawing, and it hurts him when he holds a pencil, so it's good to see his style being validated). They don't stretch his intelligence, but they can be quite fun to read with silly voices.

I've had 12 year old boys brag to me proud that they've got that far through life without reading a whole book. They've skipped pages here and there, gazed vacuously at pages under the pretence of reading. I would much rather a child enjoys something crude, silly or over-popular than a child who does not read. So if David Walliams is accessible to these types of children (usually boys) that is a good thing. Classics have their place for the individuals who enjoy them.

Harry Potter is often criticised for writing quality, and after reading aloud, some sentence structures are a bit labourious. But they're fun, engaging, cleverly structured and thought provoking. I was the wrong age when they came out, and found the band-waggon when the films came out. I'd been in a reading drought, struggling in the gap between children's fiction and enjoying adult fiction. Harry Potter ended that drought and taught me that my main love is YA fantasy. Escapist, not too dry and serious. Yes my A-level English Lit is squandered, but I still read for pleasure in a world of so many distractions from the humble book.

Reading is good. Even if the author is a middling quality celebrity.

I know it’s not compulsory to watch BGT but I’m saying a lot of kids DO watch it - it’s on prime time Saturday night telly, it’s aimed at families and kids. Millions of people including primary school children will see him on that - not mine of course, they’re too busy reading Keats and doing embroidery.

You do realise that the article says he has sold £100 mil worth of books

not that he has personally made that amount of money from them

I have bought them for my kids but I agree that they are crap. Horrible people being horrible to each other as far as I can see. Just because kids like them doesn't stop them from being rubbish though.

Little Britain was misogyny in action, I bloody hated it.

I think most kids will know him from Britain’s Got Talent too, won’t they?

Many of the children I know who read his books - year 2 readers who are on 'chapter books', so 7ish - don't watch BGT. I know this as I covered the english lessons last week for our 3 year 2 classes and Simon Cowell appeared on one of the slides. Very very few of the children knew who he was.

What a ridiculous thread. A famous person sells books that children enjoy, so what.

If your DC likes them, have a read and see if you really want your DC to absorb those attitudes.

I have read some of them and have been told about them in detail by my daughter, nieces and nephews. I'm fine with the content. I've found that if kids are well brought up, talked to, listened to and encouraged to question and think for themselves, they turn into very kind, thoughtful and tolerant individuals.

pelirocco yes I did realise but appreciate my words made it look otherwise. He’s slated to personally make £18m this year from his writing.

I’m a librarian and frankly, you could say this about a lot of “popular” authors. I can assure you, many people love books that are poorly written and the same as all their others, and their authors are well paid, but so what? What difference does it really make to you if people get enjoyment out of reading them?

not mine of course, they’re too busy reading Keats and doing embroidery.wink

good grief, some posters have issues don't they. Did you really need to take the fact that not everybody watches BGT as a personal insult?

I used to work in Primary and I have known so many children that hated reading, but fell in love with David's books and discovered a love of reading. For that reason, I cannot begrudge him any success.

YABU. I detest David Walliams, but his books aren't bad.
My DD refused to read anything for a long time, but picked up the DW books and has read through quite a few.
She says they're entertaining.

I don't think they're at all racist, and I'm a fan of anything that gets children interested in reading. They may well start with Walliams and move on to the likes of Forest, but even if they don't almost any level of reading is helpful. Goodness knows, anything that gets basic grammar and spelling into children's consciousness is very welcome.

Same with any of the arts really. For example, modern art is all about connections and who you know. What makes one person’s stack of broken chairs or plain red painting with a small yellow dot in the middle better than anyone else’s? Connections, that’s what.

I'm a library assistant and am depressed by the limited range of books purchased by my cash-strapped local authority that has contracted out book buying to a commercial company. I'm depressed by the sexist marketing of sparkly fairy/unicorn books to girls and sci-fi/football to boys.

Occasionally a well-written book will slip through and find a borrower.

But mainly it's let's feed them crap, crap and more crap.

YABU my daughter loves his books and has a few on her Christmas list! Anything that gets children reading is positive!

Good grief, some posters really can’t take a joke!

I believe you honest that lots of children don’t know DW from BGT - but I think it’s highly likely that a lot do. Is all I’m trying to say.

I agree with the OP.
I also agree with the poster who mentioned "creep radar".
I also agree with the poster who mentioned that books should be part of a "well balanced diet".

Personally, I loathe DW, but if he gets reluctant readers reading, his books are probably a good thing. (Despite the derisive, two-dimensional and frankly universally unpleasant characters.) I certainly wouldn't waste money on them though.

But it's not just him though, a celeb name sells, a wonder down a supermarket aisle where most people see books these days and children, adult books are mainly by a well known name. It seem to be just children books but now adult fiction books, lifestyle books.

I'm guilty off buying Madonna children books as I'm a fan and don't even have kids and I have never read them!

I do feel sorry for good authors who haven't got a chance but it's every industry now

Reality, music stars etc in musical Theatre
Tv, actors releasing albums

• many more

A celeb name gets tills ringing, bums on seats.

Unfortunately not the best make it, it must be so frustrating for good authors, singers, actors who don't make it and see lesser talented people on stage, screen, on a book shelf.

But we all buy, watch it

Agree with you OP. Supply and demand unfortunately

My eldest daughter did not know who he was before reading g one if his books from the library. She loves his books. I have bought more. We want kids to read and they love his books. Yes he makes money from publishing books, noone is going to write and publish for free...that is life.

I read with at-risk primary kids - sorry, they love them.

I read one of his books before realising it was written by him. And I thought it was absolute shit. So did the kids. (Although they didn't use the word shit 😉)