To ban David Walliams’ books

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When his books first started coming out (pre me having kids) I was a bit surprised as his comedy is very much not family friendly. I read one when mine were little and was totally shocked by the attitudes it was promoting in children. The books seemed mean and unpleasant. He is someone who I have never understood how his brand of ‘funny’ is seen as anything other than a kind of bullying.

So I decided not to ever buy them for my kids and ask family members not to either. I mentioned this to a friend and she thought I was being very strange and acted like they were children’s classics that I was depriving my children from.

AIBU?

I don't think any books should be banned

they are all subjective and that's their beauty!

They are absolutely awful, but the smutty humour does entice some reluctant readers to read...which should be encouraged. But yes, they are awful.

Walliams will transpire to be the new Russell Brand come 2026. Mark my words.

I don’t believe in banning books but I’d encourage everyone with a strong opinion to go to Amazon right now and leave and honest review - you can do that even if you haven’t purchased his book.

Every time I consider a book, I skim through the Amazon reviews. It’s a good database of opinions that many rely on. So, please go and put your opinion on there or just rate them.

If his reviews are low, he’ll sell less, and publish less.

I don’t like his books…but I’ve voted YABU because censoring books is never a good thing!

Honestly…you do you, read what you like, but ‘banning’ his books because you don’t like them/approve the content, is censorship, and once we start going down this road, we are threatening the very foundations of democracy.

I thought they might be good, read one to DS, it was crap, neither of us ever read one again.

I worked with him for a short while many years ago and it was not a positive experience. My local independent bookshop won't give him shelf space and would only order his books if they are specifically requested. I think that's a good way to approach the censorship question.

Please shop around and support a wide range of good authors. Poor quality 'celebrity' ones have been damaging the market, whether or not they use ghost writers.

I am not connected in any way to Barrington Stoke, the imprint who are known for producing dyslexia friendly books for a wide range of abilities and ages. Every so often I read one from their list when I find one in the library. I think writing a really great, age-appropriate story in accessible but non-condescending language takes a lot of talent. Barrington Stoke use well-established, good authors, as well as ones I've not heard of before, and they could be a useful way to explore new writers - just one idea.

Not only are his books rubbish, he gives me the creeps. I am waiting for his downfall. He has definitely got secrets hidden (and hidden for him) and I’ll bet they are hideous.

I just hope he's publicly exposed before he's dead.

I remember hearing a headmistress being interviewed on Radio 4 lamenting the 'Walliams effect' on children's reading habits. She recalled that, a few years earlier, when she talked to children starting secondary school they would name Harry Potter and other substantial children's novel series as their favourite books but that, in recent years, eleven and twelve year-olds were naming David Walliams as their favourite author. She thought it was quite sad as she would have hoped that children of that age would have moved on to more complex material.
I have my own personal reservations about the, to my mind, frequently mean-spirited and severely dumbed down content. As a previous poster commented, Walliams is like a poor man's Roald Dahl, and I have never been a fan of Roald Dahl either, even as a kid, when all my friends loved his books. I always found his stories deeply cruel and unpleasant and lacking in much warmth, kindness, humanity or even real humour.

I grew up with Enid Blyton, loved The Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair, Famous Five and the Adventure ones and Malory Towers and St Clare’s.

People were trying to ban them when I was little. I had a very old copy of The Island of Adventure where one of the characters was a black slave called Jo-Jo. In later editions it was changed to Joe the servant.

I think as long as your children are reading then that’s a good thing. I obviously moved on and read a wide range of books as I got older.

Awful. Badly written and shockingly racist and and just nasty.

Do I want to give a sliver of money to a wealthy shit bag or to support better independent writers of whom there are no shortage? No brainier.

I read everything you can imagine when I was a child including all the authors disparaged on this thread (apart from DW). I barely remember what happened in those books (I'm 30). I do remember books by Jacqueline Wilson being very emotionally intense/sad and I could have done without that. DW books I will read first before reading them to the kids but I got them second hand for £1 each so no money going to him, same with the Roald Dahl.

My DS quite likes the ganster granny ones and has asked for a few of the worlds worst ones for Christmas. We will see what they are like.
He's reading which is the good thing and honestly alot of the rubbish just goes over his head. He's reading the words hardly following the story at his age.

Alot of people wanted roald dahl banned at one stage, and jacoline wilson at another.

My DD loved them, they were the only books she read cover to cover!! She hates reading and is dyslexic- I was just pleased she was reading something.

I don’t see anything wrong with the books at all, they also cover some real life issues too.

Do some Googling and you will see why they are problematic.

Totally agree. I do not by books written by celebrities. I don’t know why people think that when they become famous they are suddenly able to write, tell you how to arrange your life and bring up your children.
I can’t stand David Walliams.

I don’t agree with banning any books tbh. Kids should read anything and everything as long as they are reading.

I personally don’t like them but my kids did read a couple before deciding they also didn’t like them.

I think you need to let your kids come to their own conclusions so they can figure out what they do enjoy reading. Introducing them to a wide variety is key.

But you do need to discuss them. I would not have been happy with my young sons reading about poor people being looked down upon or fat people being laughed at w/o me knowing so we could talk about why I didn't like him as an author.

I wouldn’t ban any book but my DC have zero interest in his books. My Mum still insists on buying them as gifts but they never get read. Gangsta Granny was ok, that’s about it.

We were given a big box of the audiobooks and I think they are very variable - a couple were pretty good (if not high literature for the ages, certainly no worse than the average school library book at the same reading level) and I'd happily read them again or pass them on but several were problematic in at least one area.

Same as Marcus Rashford.

I see his publisher has dropped him after his inappropriate behaviour towards a junior female member of staff who is is said to have ‘harassed’.

At least Marcus Rashford is there because he is a celebrity to the actual children and a good role-model.
His books are promoted because they are aimed at encouraging one specific demographic who don't read for pleasure to try a book, which I think deserves a place in a shop (and if they were hard to find then they would never reach their intended audience, hence being sold in supermarkets etc).

There is no need to ban them, just don't buy them, that's common sense isn't it ?

In the least surprising news story of 2025:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/2ddb2852f223216b