CHILDREN'S author Andy Griffiths grew up reading stories written by Enid Blyton, Dr Seuss and Lewis Carroll.
Add a love of Mad Magazine and horror comics to that literary mix and you get a sense of where the Melbourne writer, who has sold more than four million copies of his 20 books worldwide, gets his flair for the absurd.
Mr Griffiths was in Cairns yesterday tickling the funny bones of 100 students at Holy Cross Catholic Primary School and at Earlville Library as part of a tour for his newly released, The Very Bad Book.
With a trilogy about bums, called The Day My Bum Went Psycho, Zombie Bums from Uranus and Bumageddon: The Final Pongflict, it's not surprising Mr Griffiths has become one of the most popular writers for youngsters.
It's all part of the former teacher's plot to entice children to read and have fun with language.
"I was an English teacher 20 years ago and a lot of boys in particular didn't like reading so I started writing funny short pieces for them," Mr Griffiths said.
The New York Times-bestselling author shared some insider secrets with aspiring writers while signing copies of his books yesterday.
Smithfield State High School year 8 student Leonie Veness counted Mr Griffiths among her favourite authors.
"I reckon he's hilarious. It's like he's got a little kid's mind," she said.
