54 pages • 1-hour read
The Midnight Gang
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Background
Authorial Context: The Works of David Walliams
David Walliams is known for humorous works that include children’s picture books, middle grade novels, short tales, and a graphic novel. His ability to blend laugh-out-loud comedy with heartfelt plot lines and lovable characters has been compared to that of Roald Dahl of James and the Giant Peach fame. Young protagonists in Walliams’s works often face over-the-top conflicts that spark growth in courage and empathy. Awful (but still humorous) villains typically round out his casts of characters, and now that he has over 42 published works, readers sometimes find certain characters cropping up across unrelated novels, cameo-style. For example, Raj, a newsagent and patient in The Midnight Gang, is also a friend to protagonist Alfie in 2013’s Demon Dentist. Walliams’s “universe” of stories encompasses several genres, including fantasy, crime, mystery, and speculative fiction. His works appear in 55 languages, and many titles, including 2011’s Gangsta Granny, have become bestsellers.
Walliams is not just a writer; he rose to celebrity as a British comedian and television personality, starting with his time on the award-winning sketch comedy Little Britain in 2003. The actor went on to roles in feature films such as Dinner for Schmucks (2010) and served as a judge for Britain’s Got Talent. Known for his charity work as well, Walliams has taken on long-distance swimming to raise money for various causes. In 2006, for example, he swam the English Channel for Sport Relief, a group dedicated to increasing awareness for those encountering violence, discrimination, and unsafe environments.
Genre Context: Children’s Humor
The successes of David Walliams and other children’s humor genre writers such as Dav Pilkey (Dog Man series), Jeff Kinney (The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series), and Gary Northfield (Julius Zebra series) illustrate the popularity of the category. Such works have a wide following of readers of various ages. Educational professionals often recognize the value of these works beyond their humor: For example, many humorous titles are popular with reluctant readers.
While humorous books offer young readers plenty of funny moments based in hyperbole, fantasy, slapstick, or farcical humor, some are also firmly grounded in reality, and most offer important lessons in kindness, behavior, relationships, acceptance, and empathy. Furthermore, parents, teachers, and librarians embrace these works for their literary value. Since the works are filled with sensory imagery, metaphor, verbal irony, and idiomatic language, children’s humor increases readers’ comprehension and critical reading skills. Illustrations often accompany works of humor and supply support for increased understanding, not to mention added humor.
The Midnight Gang represents several of these genre traits. For example, it blends comedy and hyperbole with elements that represent the realistic and even sometimes tragic side of life (e.g., Sally’s battle against disease brings the other children to tears). Subtle lessons regarding illness and hospitalization underscore the value of life and the benefits of empathy. Walliams also employs a variety of literary techniques in the novel, creating many opportunities for readers to recognize verbal irony, simile and metaphor, visual imagery, and onomatopoeia.
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