You can do all kinds of books that have wonderful themes that are needed and things like that, but if it’s not fun for a kid to read, they’re not going to read it.
My first consideration is if it’s going to be fun for a kid to read. I think about it, but it’s a secondary consideration. Is it something you think about, or find yourself thinking more about now? You mentioned reaching autistic kids, and there is a strong conversation happening now about representing different social groups in responsible ways. I did also want to ask you about the sense of responsibility that comes with writing children’s books. The biggest “no” you could be told is a lump of coal. And then of course, watching over the whole thing is Santa. Christmas is the perfect storm: There’s presents, there’s secrets, there’s sweets, the parents are on edge because the grandparents are coming. From then on, I’ve never done a David book that didn’t explore a different part of being told “no.” The truest sequel is David Gets in Trouble, because that has his responses to being told “no.” The Christmas one I’d always wanted to do, because like I said, there was a page I did in the original, when I was a kid, of the Christmas ornaments. I said, “The next level where you get told ‘no’ all the time is school.” That’s where I got in even more trouble than at home.
Everybody I showed it to responded pretty strongly. It was also a departure, artwork-wise, for me. I really liked the way the first book came out. So how did that process change for you? You weren’t an adult as you initially wrote No, David!, so how as an adult did you approach conceiving and then crafting sequels?
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