Bad = good

Why is it that books that are hugely popular with children seldom get the nod from parents or teachers or other arbiters of "good writing" for the younger generations? Books like those written by the bad boy of Australian children's literature - Andy Griffiths - are a good example.

Quite often, school libraries play safe and have them on restricted loan even before parents have lodged a complaint. But what exactly are they complaining about? Bad writing? Poorly put-together sentences? Incorrectly punctated prose?

If that were the case, much more would be relegated to the bin than books containing mildly offensive language like bum, fart and gas.

The fact is that Andy Griffiths' books are liberally peppered with such words, but at the same time they are very cleverly written and children love them. It is probably because of such books that many children get interested in reading in the first place. The titles and content are shamelessly designed to get children to pick up the book: "The Day My Bum Went Psycho" inevitably causes a smile to appear on a child's face.

Even his "Just ..." books invite closer inspection once the reader has completed the quiz on the back cover. When I first picked up a copy of "Just Annoying" in a bookshop, I embarrassed myself by laughing so much that tears ran down my face.

So it is with great delight that we are able to welcome Andy Griffiths into our shop at Forum on Tuesday 30th May at 6 p.m. If you have children aged 9-12, particularly reluctant readers, bring 'em down and get a book signed by this stupendously talented writer!!

And, here's a good article from a recent edition of an Australian newspaper.