Billionaire Boy

Walliams’s novels’ strong moral messages, likeable child characters and awful bullies have drawn comparisons with legendary British author Roald Dahl (1916-1990), the author of Matilda, The Twits, George’s Marvelous Medicine, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, and many more novels for children. Just as Dahl often included horribly mean characters as nemeses for his protagonists, Walliams’s work usually includes snobby or cruel villains. In Billionaire Boy, protagonist Joe and his friend Bob are bullied by the Grubb twins, two ugly young thugs. The boys also suffer through lessons taught by mean and condescending teachers like their gym coach, Mr. Bruise, and strict history teacher, Miss Spite. Even their classmates are rude and demanding. This cast of misbehaving characters is reminiscent of many of Dahl’s work, such as the cruel teacher in Matilda, the dumb Twits, and the entitled and clueless kids in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. One of Walliams’s illustrators, Quentin Blake, also illustrated many of Roald Dahl’s novels, creating another connection between their work.

Walliams’s use of exaggeration, slapstick humor and caricature are also strongly reminiscent of Dahl’s work.