Background
The author, Andy Griffiths, began writing when he was in the fifth grade. He purchased a typewriter at a second-hand stall at school and created his own magazine, which he sold at school for less than five cents. He then continued writing at high school, but for the school magazine. At university he studied English and American literature and wrote songs for his own rock band, and then went on to study to become a teacher. During his life as a teacher, he began publishing humorous books as the precursor to the “Just!” series. Griffiths and his illustrator, Terry Denton, spend their collaborative working time in a studio behind Griffiths’ house, which is decorated with gadgets, toys, a children’s book library, a swimming pool, and bowling alley, much like an imagination of a children’s bedroom. They “push each other to new levels” and “drive each other to ever greater levels of silliness and creativity”. Both Griffiths and Denton believe that through their work, books are equally as entertaining for modern children as electronic medium and offer a ‘personalised imaginative experience’ that will vary between children, allowing for individualised creativity. Denton studied architecture for a short while before leaving University to experiment in the fields of animation, theatre, painting, and cartooning. Denton’s work has been described as “playful, noisy, humorous, colourful, dramatic, and challenging the reader’s lateral thinking”. He has won various awards for his work as both a writer and illustrator during his career, dating back to 1983, when he realised he had an “urge to write”. Six children's choice awards were presented to Griffiths in 2008 for the book '' Just Shocking!'', making him the first Australian author to be awarded so.Style
Griffiths describes kids’ literature as “either lame or really old-fashioned”, as children, especially in countries outside North America, were being exposed to North American entertainment such as ''The Simpsons'' and were increasingly using electronic media. Griffiths also believes his books should reflect his interests in rock and roll, comedy, and pop culture, and in this way, they would be engaging for a modern audience. Griffiths’ books are also described as being “transitional material for children between 7 and 10 years old”, particularly due to his use of “child-safe humour” through the recurrence of fart jokes and silly puns, and fewer illustrations than many children’s books. Shaun Tan from ''The Iowa Review'' writes that most people believe that the books that most influence them and have made the most impact on the imagination are children’s books or books read during childhood, and that “artists, publishers, booksellers and educators houldroll upReception
Andrew McMichael from Western Kentucky University writes:“The idea is to appeal to their sense of the absurd and crazy, and to push (but not cross) the boundaries of what their parents might consider socially acceptable. The books seem to take the socially accepted norms that kids are forced into in their early years and twist them.”Mark Macleod writes in ''The interdisciplinary Press'' that ''Just Tricking'', the first book in the series, is “fiction for a generation whose favourite response to any lack of resolution is the shrug, ‘whatever’”. Macleod also describes the first-person-tense of the book as ‘problematic’, as it confuses the stories as autobiographical, thus it is unclear if the stories are the ‘adult author’s past recollected’ or joking ideal of the adult author who dodges their way through life ‘as if he were an oversized kid’. Thus Macleod describes the character in the books, Andy, as ‘living in the elusive space between the creator and the text’.
Details of the series
'' Just Tricking!''
Alternate Titles: ''Just Joking!'' and ''Just Kidding!'' Released: 1997 This book begins by asking to take the "Tricking Test" to find out if the book is suitable, scoring one point for each 'yes' answer to questions such as playing dead to avoid going to school, pretending to be someone else on the phone, leaving banana skins on footpaths, whether or not you own rubber vomit or fake dog poo, and if you wish it were April Fool's Day every day. Humourously, whether you scored 0 or 5, it says you will love this book.'' Just Annoying!''
Released: 1998 A '''' Just Stupid!''
Released: 1999 ''Just Stupid!'' is the third book in the '' Just!'' series by Andy Griffiths. It contains various silly short stories, about things such as'' Just Crazy!''
Alternative Title: ''Just Wacky!'' Released: 2000 Similarly to the first title in the series, ''Just Tricking!'', the book asks readers to take the "Crazy Test", asking questions like "do you look in the mirror and see a crazy maniac staring back at you?" and "do you sometimes get the urge to take your clothes off and cover yourself in mud?"''Just Three for Free!''
Released: 2000 This book contains three stories: Playing Dead, In The Shower With Andy, and Runaway Pram.''Just Disgusting!''
Released: 2002 The test for this book asks if readers pick their nose, wear the same undies two days in a row and wee in swimming pools, among other disgusting things.''Just Shocking!''
Released: 2007 Following a short break in releases in the series, this book asks if "you wish you could drive around in a monster truck crushing everybody and everything that gets in your way" and if watching videos of people getting involved in accidents is funny.'' Just Macbeth!''
Released: 2009 A different concept from Griffiths and Denton, this book is an alternative version of ''''Just Doomed!''
Released: 2012 The "Doomed Test" asks if you have ever broken a mirror, walked under a ladder or opened an umbrella inside, among other superstitious things.References
{{Andy Griffiths Book series introduced in 1997 Children's short story collections Short story collections by Andy Griffiths Series of children's books Novels set in the 1970s Australian non-fiction books Pan Books books