Myself and my youngest son had the pleasure of interviewing Andy Griffiths, and sharing this with you alongside my son’s review of the latest title in the series, The 156 Storey Treehouse.
- Where did the idea for the tree house series come from?
One day Terry and I were working on a story and it was going to be about the two of us trying to write a book but getting distracted and I asked Terry to draw a fun treehouse for us to live in with stuff like a tank full of man-eating sharks and a bowling alley. His first sketch had 13 levels and he added even more great things, like the see-through swimming pool and catapult. So that’s how it all started. We enjoyed writing the book so much we decided to do another one, maybe a series, and to go up by 13 levels each time.
- How did you meet Terry?
A publisher suggested Terry and I should work together because she said we had a similar sense of humour and she thought we would get on well. She was right!
- Which is your favourite room and why?
Andyland, of course! It’s full of the best type of people in the world—Andys!
- If I could have any room in my house it would be filled with unicorns and pink clouds, If you could have any room in your actual house in the style of your dreams, what would you have and why?
A room full of strawberries and cream that I could swim around in and eat as I go. Why? Because I love strawberries and cream and swimming.
- Your books are great for reluctant readers, as a kid what did you like reading ?
When I was a kid I liked reading comics, especially horror comics full of stories about mad professors and time travel and crazy inventions. I also really liked books by Enid Blyton. The Magic Faraway Tree and The Adventures of the Wishing Chair were my favourites. Oh, and I was always returning to the rhyming nonsense of Dr Seuss.
- Would you consider adding more characters to the stories?
Yes. I like thinking up new characters to interact with and annoy Andy and Terry. The latest book features a very angry and not-very-Christmassy Christmas snowman … as well as a cast of thousands of Santas.
- Do you and Terry ever disagree on the story and the pictures?
No, not really. Sometimes Terry will gently point out that something is going on a bit long, or that he’s not that excited about drawing what I’ve written about and this will let me know that I have to make some changes to the story, but we don’t argue or disagree.
- Would you let a TV company make a cartoon series based on your books, and would you let Terry do the drawings?
I would be happy to have a cartoon made of the series. I would like the animation to look like Terry’s drawings, but I think it would be too big a job for him to do on his own. TV shows and movies often have teams of animators all working together—they take a lot more work than books. Fingers crossed we will find the right team before too long.
- As a primary school librarian I spend a lot if time encouraging children to read, and finding books they like. What one piece of advice could you give me?
I guess it’s all about matching the right book with the right child. What are their interests? What level of reading ability do they have? As storytellers we try to appeal to the widest possible range of readers by using plenty of pictures to take the place of description, simple language to tell a really interesting story which is a mix of adventure, fantasy and comedy—all things we’ve found over many years and many books to have a strong appeal to many children.
- Why does the treehouse get 13 storeys each time?
By pure chance the first treehouse Terry drew just happened to have 13 levels and so we decided to add that many each time we wrote a new book. It’s a random accident that then became an iron rule.
Review of 156 Storey Treehouse
I couldn’t believe when mum said she had the chance to send some questions in for author Andy Griffiths to answer, I was delighted when she said that because I was a massive fan she was going to let me set the questions. I thought about it for a while and came up with them, but when it was bedtime I suddenly thought of another one, and this was the question I really needed answering.
Lucky mum emailed the questions straight over.
And when the answers came back I was delighted.
So on to the book, The 156-Storey Treehouse was an brilliant funny read, for everyone who loves the treehouse series you know what it’s all about.
It’s basically about Andy and Terry and their amazing treehouse, they have new amazing levels including a wishing well, and a mind reading making machine.
This time it’s set on Christmas eve and they are at war with an angry snowman, Santa has crashed landed into the cloning machine, just the normal chaos.
It’s fast paced and funny, and I can’t wait for the next one.
By Lewis
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