3d-review – author interview – ‘My hamster is an astronaut’ – Dave Lowe

 We are featuring Dave Lowe and his wonderfully funny, adventurous series for younger readers featuring a boy and his hamster 'Stinky and Jinks'.

We have been talking to Dave about the inspirations behind his writing.

What was your favourite book as a child?

Like most kids, I loved Roald Dahl.  I also read a lot of Enid Blyton, especially the Mystery series.  I was (and still am) into football, and I read all of Michael Hardcastle's football books.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

One of my big pleasures in life is reading with my kids - I have two daughters who are 9 and 6.  It's always good to check out the competition!  The last book I read with my older daughter was 'When You Reach Me', by Rebecca Stead, which is an absolute cracker.

Why did you start writing for children?

I really don't remember!  I started writing when I was 7 or 8, so I guess I've always been writing for children.

What is your favourite aspect of writing for children?

I love remembering what it was like to be a child, and the kind of things that made me laugh.  I also love it that you don't need to write long descriptive passages - children have such great imaginations that you can set a scene with just a few words, and their brains can do the rest.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

When you're young and you really get into a book, it becomes such a big part of your life.  This can still happen when you're a grown-up, of course, but it's more difficult, somehow.

  

What made you want to write this book?

My older daughter had been going through an 'animal book' stage, and the animals were always pretty cute.  I though it would be funny to write about an animal that wasn't at all cute - a hamster who was clever and sarcastic and quite rude.

Thank you to Dave Lowe - and we hope the books continue to inspire younger readers everywhere to discover just what great fun reading can be!