Pete Johnson
- Name: Pete Johnson
- Favourite book: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- First Job: Film critic for a local paper
- Favourite Bands: Oasis, The Cure, Madness, The Jam
- Football Team: Spurs
- Lives: St. Albans, Hertfordshire
- See all titles from Pete
Once I was sent out of assembly - for laughing!
What happened was this: a very serious man was being introduced to all the pupils. He was our new deputy headmaster. Then he told us his name: Mr Bureau. And all at once I could feel a laugh bubbling up inside me.
I told myself to hold the laugh in. And I did try. I became very hot. In fact, I started to sweat. Then, quite suddenly this laugh just exploded out of me. And Mr Bureau was not at all amused.
To be honest, I thought school could be more fun than it was. Each day I'd wait so impatiently for it to finish. Then I'd race home and at last, have a really good laugh - by reading.
Some books were so enjoyable they made me laugh out loud. Top of the list was The BFG by Roald Dahl. I just loved the BFG's 'scrumdiddlyumptious' mixed-up language. And ever since I've enjoyed mad, zany tales: recent hits include The Killer Underpants by Michael Lawrence, Paul Jennings' wickedly, unpredictable tales and Sue Limb's riotous, Girl, 15 (Charming but Insane).
Another big favourite of mine was Richmal Crompton's Just William. There are thirty-eight books about this eleven-year-old roaming the countryside with his home-made placards (Rongs Rited 1 Penny) and brilliant schemes (Pensions for Boys) and inevitably leaving a trail of chaos behind him.
These are stories which always cheer me up. And I think comic tales are especially good at this. They also seem to me the friendliest of all books, often pulling you in from the very first line: for instance, Dodie Smith's, I Capture the Castle, begins: "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink." And rightaway you think, this is someone I really want to know.
These brilliant writers inspired me to write my own comic novels, including my own two favourites: How to Train Your Parents, Help I'm a Classroom Gambler and my latest, which has some fun at the expense of spy stories: The Bad Spy's Guide.
Now often, when visiting a bookshop or library I'll read an extract from one of my books. And if people start laughing - well, I can't tell you how happy that makes me feel.
You see, even now, I still really love a good laugh.
Pete Johnson was born in Winchester, and tried several jobs after doing an English degree at Birmingham University. He was teaching English and Drama at a school in Buckinghamshire when he wrote his first book for teenagers, 'Secrets from the School Underground', which became an immediate hit. Now a full time writer, Pete prefers to write in the morning. He does extensive research for his books, involving on one occasion going on a ghost hunt, and on another persuading his sister to be a contestant on 'Blind Date', which she won. He carries a little blue notebook around everywhere in case he has a brilliant idea, or hears something he wants to write down.
