David Walliams was "really touched" when he heard ‘The Boy in the Dress’ had helped a young fan come to terms with their gender identity.
David Walliams says his books help kids
The 51-year-old comedian has made a second career out of writing children's novels since his 'Little Brtain' days and was "amazed" to learn that his 2008 bestseller had helped a child with such a personal issue.
He told Graham Norton, 60, on his Virgin Radio show: “I hadn’t figured it would have that kind of impact and I was like, ‘wow, that’s amazing’.
“I was really touched.”
The former 'Britain's Got Talent' judge also shared how he loves to write for children who are “reluctant readers” as he spent his own childhood reading comic books and is keen to add those elements to his work.
He said: “There are kids who like to read and there are kids who are reluctant readers and I want to write books for kids who are reluctant readers.
"I grew up on the Beano, that’s what got me into reading so I wanted to write a book that was really funny, really visual, really silly humour, [a] bit surreal, and maybe a little bit scary at times.
‘The World’s Worst Monster’’ author praised his “genius” team of designers for their illustrations across the book.
David said: “I say to them, ‘I don’t want any pages where nothing is happening other than text’, cause I know what it’s like, you know having being a kid, you flick through a book, and if it doesn’t have illustrations and it’s just text, text, text, often it just puts you off, cause you think where are the rewards?
“I have driven the illustrators mad by saying, ‘Can I have a picture on every single page?’
“They’re contracted to do like 25, and then they end up doing 525, but I just want the books to be accessible as possible and encourage kids to read.”
David revealed he had been “writing” with his comedy partner Matt Lucas, 49, but is waiting until he has wrapped on Ridley Scott’s sequel to the 2000 film ‘Gladiator’.
David said: “We are just writing, we’ve got lots of characters and situations we think are funny, but we want to do it in our own time, we don’t want to rush.
“We want to get it right and we want to create something really special.”
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